


A Needed Miracle

by feminaexlux



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different Powers, Awkward Tension, Awkward is my jam, Ch15 Warning: Impalement, Ch15/16 Warning: Strangulation, Ch8/Ch9 Warning: Suffocation, Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, Feelings, Identity Reveal, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Minor Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Minor Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Potential Triggers, Resolved Sexual Tension, Suggestive Themes, Tags Are Fun, There is violence yep, cat!Luka, communication is important, lukanette endgame, tw: Impalement, tw: strangulation, tw: suffocation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:34:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 34,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21663007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feminaexlux/pseuds/feminaexlux
Summary: A tale of an adult Ladybug and her black cat partner, fighting back against demons and agents of chaos(AU - Miraculous present but function differently)
Relationships: Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 114
Kudos: 176





	1. I could be your boy

**Author's Note:**

> Here, have an AU! (Not related to my other Lukanette works, JSYK)

Marinette angled the pin just right so she stabbed herself instead of Juleka. "Oh fuck," she said under her breath. It wasn't the first time _that afternoon_ she had done that same thing in the same fucking place. "Sorry, Juleka."

"Hmm?" The tall, dark-haired woman hadn't even noticed, paying more attention to the quiet rock music playing from Marinette's phone.

"Nothing! Everything's fine!" At least there was that bandage on her finger there already. She really needed to find that thimble.

"Marinette," the model murmured. "You… wanna hang out tonight?"

"Mmm?" Marinette hummed, additional safety pins and bull clips in her mouth. "Hang out?" She repeated for posterity's sake. Sometimes Juleka was hard to understand, but probably at this point Marinette was worse.

"Yeah, my band's playing a gig tonight."

"Oh neat! I didn't know you played!"

"I'm bass guitar."

"Oh cool. Where are you playing?"

There was a name of some public house in downtown that Marinette had never known existed. "I'll text you the address," Juleka said.

What was Marinette doing tonight, other than drowning herself in tea and trying to catch up on her work? Could she take a break? Maybe not, but… it was rare that Juleka even _spoke_ , much less reach out to anyone to "hang out".

Marinette and Juleka had struck up a relatively quiet, cordial friendship when the designer was tasked with prepping the outfits the slim model had to wear for a series of ads Gabriel was running for the new Fall collection. Juleka was polite and so was Marinette, but a stray call had blasted out Marinette's unsilenced ring tone (some classic Jagged Stone) and Juleka cheerfully piped up for the first time, dispelling Marinette's belief that Juleka hated her.

Juleka and Marinette got into hours long conversation over classic rock, speaking through dressing, getting makeup fixed, the photo session, the all-too-short breaks, the proofing, and dismantling the outfit. They traded numbers after, and Juleka ended up being pretty chatty over text, trading songs and trivia back and forth with Marinette.

It was nice to have another model friend in the industry. It was great to have another friend in general.

Could she consider Adrien to be a friend? She had seen the poster boy for the Gabriel brand out and about several times, touring various departments and stations for seamstresses. He even said "Hi" to Marinette a couple of times! He probably didn't remember her name, but that was okay. She could barely remember her own name sometimes. Especially around him.

Marinette realized a little bit after the fact that Juleka probably assumed she was coming to the band's gig. The model had already left, doing whatever it was models did after photographs. Marinette had to go back and get her handiwork critiqued and graded, and then she could leave for the day (if she wasn't torn to shreds).

She could have just texted Juleka and said "maybe next time", but Marinette didn't. A beer and some rock music was going to be okay. She didn't have to stay long. Just watch the set, nurse a beer or two, and then bid adieu. She really had to wrap up some of the missing autumnal tulle flowers for the fall pieces for her own little private boutique line.

Right now, though, it was humid and hot. And a beer with some hopefully decent music actually sounded _super_ appealing. So she got home, put her little boutique on the back burner (again), took a power nap, and got dressed in something more casual than fitting a seamstress on the up-and-up in the designer world.

A black tank, some cute red shorts and some old comfy sneakers were going to be just fine. No one was going to be critiquing her lack of couture. She tied her hair back in two loose pigtails, her hair a little more frizzy than she liked, but she didn't care. She left her tiny, messy apartment less than 2 hours after getting home from work and took a cab to the bar.

The bar was… green. It had old, chipping emerald green paint on its wooden facade and the dark glass had some beautiful hand-painted lettering that proclaimed it to be Irish in some nature. The neon signs lighting up advertisements for cheap imported beers mostly ruined the effect. She walked up the few creaky steps, opened the door into the bar proper and didn't see anyone familiar in the vicinity. She stepped closer to the counter, got the immediate attention of the barkeep and ordered a pint of some blonde ale she recognized. She pulled out her phone to re-read Juleka's text, finding a new message beneath the original invitation.

Meet us in the back, straight down the hallway, then right

She sipped the beer, drinking enough so it didn't slosh over when she walked. She followed the terse instructions out into a little courtyard, a refreshing gentle breeze blowing through as she walked out.

"Marinette, over here," she heard Juleka. Marinette turned and saw Juleka to her right. There were a couple of people there Marinette didn't know, but Juleka was there so she smiled and walked toward the table.

Marinette was able to take a few steps to the group. Then shit happened as it usually did for Marinette and she tripped on the edge of a slightly raised slab of the concrete floor. "Oh fuck!"

One hand, not hers, took her glass as it was tipping forward and righted it before any of the bitter nectar spilled. Another hand, also not hers, was braced against her shoulder to prevent her from faceplanting onto the floor.

So instead she faceplanted into the solid chest of the owner of both surprisingly dexterous hands.

"Shit! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Marinette immediately pulled back, pushing up off of her savior with both hands. She looked up and saw a pair of bright blue eyes which were surprised and a little amused.

"Are you okay?" He asked, half a smile on his face.

"I'm fine!" Marinette yelled. "I swear this is my first beer. Ah," she said, pulling her hands away from him. She had maybe let her hands linger on him a little long.

"Nice, saved the lady _and_ the beer," another man said from the same table. This one was large and looked intimidating, his angled bangs bleach blond in contrast with his black hair.

"Here you go," the first man said. He handed Marinette's beer back to her, only slightly foamier than before.

"Oh my god I'm so, so clumsy," Marinette sighed, pressing her free hand against her cheek.

"Hi! Why don't you sit down? I'm Rose!" Said a blonde lady across from the first guy.

"I'm Ma-Ma-Marinette," Marinette stuttered.

"Hello, Ma-Ma-Marinette," the first guy chuckled, his hand covering his mouth slightly. "Sorry," he said quickly when she pouted.

"I'm Ivan," said the larger dude.

"You know me," Juleka said. "Glad you could make it. Thanks for coming out."

"Th-thank you for inviting me!" Marinette sat down next to the first guy. "Sorry for falling on you," she said after turning back to him.

"It wasn't a problem, and you apologize too much. I'm Luka."


	2. You could be my girl

_Yes, thank you universe_ , Marinette thought bitterly. The first impression she gave this new group of people was of her tripping and making an embarrassment out of herself. _And_ she fell face-first into a super fucking cute guy, no less. She already had shit luck with her love life as it was, she didn't need the extra help in screwing up her entrance.

She took a long sip of her recovered beer while Juleka took up explaining how the two knew each other through work.

She had a sidelong glance at the cute dude. Luka? _Juleka? Luka?_ Was that just a coincidence? He wore a really faded Jagged Stone shirt that seemed torn and tattered at the edges… Marinette recognized it! It was the tour shirt from 12 years ago! Dark jeans, torn at the knees, black high-top canvas shoes with a bunch of band stickers all over. Seemed pretty comfortable with himself, actually, Marinette's first impression of _him_ was that he didn't care what anyone thought.

Fuck, she was doing it again, scanning the clothes first…

Well, maybe that was to avoid staring at his face, so she tried to stare at everything but. He was tall and slim and yet looked like he worked out a lot. He had long, dark hair with blue frosted tips that was styled simply, being swept back. He had a hint of a tattoo underneath his sleeve and at his neckline, but Marinette couldn't figure out what it was. And he was handsome. Strong jawline, roman nose, great profile… His eyes were captivating. His lips were… were _very nice_. Marinette could see them curl into a damned cocky half-grin and _oh shit_ she was caught staring _fuck_. Wait! They were all looking at her. _Shit_. She missed something.

"You designed Jagged's album cover?" Luka politely repeated.

Marinette nearly choked. "O-oh god that was 10 years ago!" She laughed nervously.

Luka pulled out his phone and searched through some photos. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng, age 14, designer of Jagged Stone's album cover for _Rock Giant_ and others _._ "

"Dupain-Cheng? Like the bakery?" Ivan asked.

"Dupain-Cheng! Did you go to Françoise Dupont for Collège?!" Rose exclaimed.

"Y-yes, to both!"

"I was in Ms Bustier's class!!!" Rose yelled.

"Oh, so was I," Marinette said, sounding a little confused. She didn't remember anything from her awkward Collège days. Then again, she had been awkward _all_ throughout her schooling.

"We were all in the same Collège _and_ class?" Ivan asked.

"Huh?" Marinette said.

"Well, you all were. I was already in Lycée when Jules was in Collège 10 years ago," Luka followed up.

"Jules?" Marinette asked.

"That's me." Juleka said. "Luka's my brother, I don't know if we said that." Damn it, it made too much sense. The Couffaines were a stupid beautiful family.

Rose clapped her hands. "Oh! I remember you now! You were always so nice! And quiet. You and Alya… Alya Cesaire were friends? You two hung out with Nino. We never really talked, but we were both friends with Mylene! This is like a mini Collège reunion! Except for Luka."

"I always hid outside of class, so yeah," Marinette sighed. "I remember too, you're Rose Lavillant! Ivan… Ivan Bruel? Ugh, Juleka, you didn't tell me you went to Françoise!"

"I looked pretty different then, so I didn't want to bother you if you didn't remember me by name." Juleka smiled. "It's not a big deal."

"I'm so bad with people," Marinette sighed.

"You're doing fine," Luka commented quietly. Marinette smiled shyly at him.

"I was the goth with purple hair that covered my face," Juleka laughed.

"OHH!" Marinette exclaimed. "Oh, okay. You had to go natural for modeling, didn't you?"

"I could have kept it purple but it just seemed easier to have you guys style and dye it."

"Wait, so you knew who I was all this time?" Marinette realized.

"I did. I didn't know if you wanted to reconnect or anything, so I figured it was going to be easier to keep things professional," Juleka answered. "But then you played Jagged Stone, so I wanted to talk!"

"Your album cover spawned at least 8 copycats," Luka said. "It was pretty damn good."

"Oh… oh. Thank you," Marinette said shyly. "The other ones I did for Jagged weren't as good as the first one, unfortunately."

"The 4th one's my favorite," Luka grinned. That cover? The one with the black and white guitar with the colored lightning for strings? That was Marinette's worst one…

"Have you kept in touch with anyone else from Collège or Lycée?" Ivan asked. "We all went to Luka's Lycée too. He's only 2 years older."

"Oh? I… haven't met _you_ before, have I?" Marinette squeaked. She probably would have remembered him!

Luka shook his head. "Nah, I don't think so. I would have remembered you."

Marinette blushed, and Juleka and Rose passed a knowing look to each other. "A-ah, okay! I'm still friends with Alya and Nino, we talk all the time when I'm not busy. They just got married a month ago. I'm also friends with Aurora Beaureal and Mirelle Caquet, the weather girls!"

"Haha nice. I myself got married 4 months ago! My wife is Mylene," Ivan laughed.

"OH! Congrats! Tell her I said hi!" Marinette smiled.

"Thanks, will do."

"Lycée sweethearts, huh?" Marinette asked. "How cute!"

"Isn't it romantic?" Rose sighed. "I looove seeing couples be cute together!" Rose cupped her face with her hands. "Are _you_ married or dating anyone, Marinette?"

Marinette looked up in shock. "What? Oh, no, no, I'm far too… busy?"

"Rose," Luka sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

Juleka laughed. "Alright, alright. Let's get back to the beer," Juleka said.

"Huh?" Marinette asked. Ivan just grinned at her. "I missed something," Marinette said quietly.

"Don't worry about it," Luka sighed, narrowed eyes glaring at Rose and Juleka, who stuck their tongues out at him. "Anyway. You seem to like Jagged Stone, so hopefully our music won't be too bad for you to listen to."

"Right, what do you guys play?" Marinette asked.

"We're halfway decent with the Couffaines here," Ivan smirked. "We're mostly rock. Rose is the voice, I'm drums, Juleka's bass, Luka's guitar. Do you play anything, Marinette?"

"Oh, no. You do NOT want me anywhere near an instrument. You guys saw earlier! I'm just a localized natural disaster."

"Hah, you should try drums, then!" Ivan laughed. "Great way to get rid of stress."

Marinette laughed. The 5 of them continued to have a pleasant conversation with a number of different topics, and Marinette felt great to be able to talk and see Juleka relaxed and having fun. Ivan was apparently a therapist, Rose worked for a non-profit to help out abused children, and Luka was his own consulting company, being both a sound engineer and sound designer for other musicians. He also volunteered at Rose's non-profit by building playhouses and being their general handyman. Juleka had become a model after overcoming some crippling anxiety and learning how to manage some of her panic attacks. They all hung out because they liked rock music and wanted to play.

Marinette felt like she was dull by comparison. She… was a seamstress? Yay?

"Ooh, it's time!" Rose exclaimed, her phone pinging an alarm. "Marinette, save our seats!"

"Uh, I'll try!"

"Don't worry, if anyone tries to stake a claim they'll learn to regret it when I come back," Ivan grinned.

"How long is the set?" Marinette asked, glancing down at her watch. Shit, it was 10:30?

"Oh, not long, only an hour?" Rose said. _Oof_. Oh well, Marinette was already behind, what was another day? "If it gets too late you can sleep at our place!"

The band went up on stage and got the bar patrons' attention Marinette noticed that a large group of people were crowding around the stage. Way more than she would have imagined the bar containing. "Hey everyone, thanks for coming in today! We're Kitty Section and this is our song _We Love You But Please Leave By 9_." Were they going for irony?

Ivan started on the drums and suddenly there was a wall of well-coordinated noise that blasted out from the speakers. Marinette's mouth dropped open. She watched each of the band members playing. Rose was _roaring_ at the audience. Juleka had a split stance and was banging her head to the music while continuing to play the bass. Ivan had a manic expression on his face as he used his drumsticks to beat the rhythm. Luka was leaning back and smoothly playing as he walked around dodging Rose in her erratic dancing. He looked up, caught Marinette's gaze, and did his lopsided smile.

He winked at her. Marinette dropped her eyes back to her drink, feeling her face flush red.

The first song ended with raucous applause from the half-drunk audience. The next song wasn't as jarring as the first, but still was pretty energetic and loud. The third was slightly more somber. The fourth picked up speed and almost sounded like a pop song. They took a 10 minute break and Marinette rushed up to the band after grabbing a tray of ice waters from the waitstaff.

"Holy shit, guys, you're all amazing!" Marinette beamed.

"Haha, thanks!" Rose laughed. "You're an angel, Marinette!" Rose said appreciatively, taking a long draw of the cold water.

"Pff, bringing you water? Low bar. Now, did you guys want any other drinks? It's on me!" And hopefully the drinks wouldn't literally be on her if she kept herself from falling over, Marinette thought. Ivan and Juleka and Rose asked for more liquor or beer, but Luka said he'd be fine with water. Marinette left to go fetch them.

Juleka leaned to rest her head on her brother's shoulder. "She said she's not dating anyone."

Luka sighed. "She also said she was busy." Of course Juleka would pick up on his interest.

"Well, so are you, and here you two are. She's cute, isn't she?"

"Does she even date guys?"

"Her last boyfriend was 2 years ago so I'd say yes. He hated rock music, by the way."

"No wonder they broke up." They laughed. "I appreciate you telling me, but I hope you didn't invite her just to try to hook me up."

"No, really? She's adorable, she's sweet, she's genuine, she's talented as fuck, she's Jagged Stone's personal designer for album covers, so clearly the only reason I'd ever want to hang out with her is to push her off to my shitty brother."

Luka laughed. "Yikes, okay fine, I'll get my head out of my ass."

"At least you're a considerate asshole."

"Fuck off, you jerk," Luka smiled.

"You're the jerk," Juleka said lovingly. "If you didn't go for her, well... Maybe if Rose and I weren't together _I'd_ tap Marinette. Hmm, maybe Rose won't mind if we all—"

"Okay, I'm done." Luka walked off, shaking his head.

"I was joking!" Juleka laughed, yelling after him.

Obvious attempt at matchmaking aside, Luka did really find her cute and adorable… Her low cut tank and long bare legs also did quite a number on him. Everything about her was his type. As soon as she had walked into the courtyard and turned to smile at them he was smitten. But of course she was unavailable. _Tough luck, Couffaine_ , he thought at himself. _Just enjoy her company_ and try not to think about how long it's been since he was actually interested in anyone.

He walked back to the bar and found Marinette struggling to carry two beers and two cocktails in various glassware. There weren't any other trays available? He grabbed the beers from in front of her and she jumped slightly. "Oh, Luka! Thank you!" She smiled up at him and his brain fuzzed, greying out everything else around her until she glowed like his sun in the dim bar. He hadn't had much to drink at all, it was just her.

Her and a clap of thunder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I'm getting somewhere with this. Post meet-cute, things are going to _happen_


	3. Come on, rock my world

It was an actual clap of thunder. In the summer on a clear night? Where did it come from?

Marinette and Luka looked at each other, the both of them confused. They both looked outside and heard people screaming. They saw a green… somebody land hard on the pavement and bounce several yards into traffic. Luckily there wasn't too much traffic, but the cars out there all screeched to a stop.

"Oh shit!" They both yelled, both putting their drinks down, leaping over fallen chairs, running around other people, and out the door. Other people rushed behind them to follow, but they were faster. Then they saw the sky. It was… it was black and purple with lightning? _Holy shit!_

Luka stopped anyone else from coming out and yelled at them to get and stay inside. Marinette sprinted to the fallen person, weaving through the stopped traffic, and discovered it was an elderly Asian man wearing what looked like green hexagonal-patterned spandex? And wearing a net of throwing-stars like chainmail. _Um._

"Are you okay sir?!" Marinette said, hovering over him. If he had anything broken she shouldn't move him.

"Ugh," he sighed, slowly pulling himself up.

"Oh no, please don't move!"

He snapped his head up and threw himself and Marinette to the side, just in time to prevent another lightning strike… which had apparently been targeted at Marinette!

"Jade Turtle! I'm going to destroy you, old man. Give me the Miraculous!" Some guy was yelling from the top of a building wearing what looked like a toga and a purple sash? What?

Luka ran by, picking up the old man and pulling Marinette up. "Let's get back inside!"

"No, don't!" The old man yelled. He cried out "SHELTER!" in the nick of time to prevent another lightning strike. There was a solid, opaque green dome surrounding the three with the throwing-stars at the vertices. "Just… just put me down, please," the old man begged.

"What the fuck?!" Luka shouted. "What the fuck is going on?!"

The old man pushed off of Luka and caught his breath. "M… Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

"HUH?!" She yelled out. "You know me?"

"I'm… so glad I found you… That you came to me," he wheezed. "You… you need this," he said, pulling out a small black box. "Please, please, I beg you, take this and wear it now."

"Wait, what's going on?!" She yelled, another lightning bolt striking the dome.

The old man screamed at her. "There's no time! Put it on!"

Marinette took the box and opened it to discover earrings. She hastily put them on. "Wha—"

"Wait, you need a partner." He pulled out a second box and presented it to Luka. "You, you will be her partner."

"What the fuck," Luka said under his breath, but he opened the box and put on the ring on his left index finger.

"Now, Tikki, Plagg, come out!" A pink bug—mouse—bugmouse thing and a tiny black cat appeared in the air. "Repeat after me, _Transform Me!_ "

"T-transform me?" Marinette stuttered. There was a flash of pink, the bugmouse disappeared into her earrings, and suddenly she was wearing something else entirely. "WHA?!"

"What the fuck," Luka kept repeating, staring back and forth from Marinette to the floating cat, which yawned.

"TRANSFORM!" The old man yelled.

"God, okay! Transform me!" There was a flash of… blue? And suddenly Luka… was also dressed in something else entirely after the cat was absorbed into the ring.

"We've got you!" The imitation Zeus yelled out, the halo of a purple butterfly hovering over his face, and he threw another thunderbolt. Unfortunately the dome shattered under the strain, but Luka grabbed the two and leapt away in the nick of time, dodging the follow up lightning as well. Except he leapt higher and further than he expected and now they were 100 feet in the air.

"Holy FUCK!" Luka cried out, but… they weren't falling. He looked around and he saw Marinette holding both him and the old man up. With her fluttering silver-flecked gossamer wings.

She really was an angel now.

"Can you tell us what's going on now, sir?!" She yelled out. She dodged another lightning bolt pulling both men with her.

"There!" Luka pointed at the roof. "Let's just go straight at him!"

"Umm!" Marinette yelled out, but did as he asked, dodging shots as they were thrown.

"Let me go here," Luka said, pointing to the same roof their target was on. She dropped him off at the roof and he leapt forward again, but this time he launched at the lightning guy before he could throw another bolt and tackled him. Luka pinned his arms down and headbutted him, temporarily knocking the senses out of the villain.

"Good! Good work," the old man said. "Tear the sash!" Luka did as asked, tearing the royal purple sash that had been draped over the toga after discovering metal claws embedded on his black gloves. A ton of black and purple butterflies flew out of the tear.

"Fuck!" Luka yelled out. Marinette flew in from his side and snatched him away from the butterflies before they touched him.

"Call your lucky charm!" The old man was yelling at Marinette now, who was setting Luka back down on the roof.

"Uh… Lucky Charm?!" Her hands suddenly glowed and two thin red swords with black ringed hilts appeared in them. "What the hell?!"

"Take down the butterflies! You! Call your cataclysm!"

"Cataclysm!" Luka yelled out and suddenly a giant hammer manifested in his hand. "I… I can work with this." He swung his hammer down and obliterated several butterflies with black lightning crashing around the hammer at the impact site.

"GO!" The old man yelled at Marinette.

She flew forward and swung her swords into the swarm of butterflies, cutting a huge swath away. Luka ran in after her, swinging his hammer down to clear his path. They stood back to back, breathing hard.

"I have no clue what the hell I'm doing," she said to him.

He laughed. "You and me both. You okay?"

"I'm fine, considering. You ready?"

"Ready enough. Let's go."

The old man recalled his metal stars and joined the two as they destroyed the butterflies. The three wove around one another, each of them covering the other two's backs, preventing the butterflies from touching any of them. How Marinette and Luka knew inherently to avoid touching the butterflies they didn't know, but they didn't really have time to think about it.

When the final butterflies were slashed, smashed, or throwing-starred, the three collapsed near each other and took in gasping breaths, exhausted. Their weapons all blinked out of existence, but Jade Turtle nodded and implied it was alright.

"A-are we done?" Marinette asked.

Jade Turtle rolled to his side and looked at the downed villain, who was still knocked unconscious. "Yes," he sighed, relieved as the man's Greek façade faded back and revealed the sleeping normal man underneath.

"You, you need to explain," Luka said between breaths. He got up and sat back down next to the elderly man, who dropped his transformation. A tiny green turtle appeared hovering in the air.

"I will explain," the turtle said, floating down to the elderly man as he passed out.

"Oh no! Is he okay?!" Marinette asked, crawling to check over Jade Turtle.

The turtle nodded. "Master Fu is… exhausted. Using the miraculous is draining in his later years. My name is Wayzz, and I am a kwami, like a fairy to use a familiar term. You probably saw Tikki and Plagg earlier. They too are kwami. We exist to fight evil."

"Okay," Luka sighed, his breathing more under his control. "Say we accept that. What the fuck did we just do?" Marinette crawled next to him, sitting up.

"You were fighting an Akuma. These are known as demons in your world. They leak from the broken Miraculous that is the butterfly."

"Um… almost none of that made sense," Marinette said.

The turtle kwami floated in front of Marinette. "The earrings you've put on are a Miraculous. They give you the power to fight evil." Wayzz floated over to Luka. "You also have that power through the ring Master Fu gave you. The Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous are the most powerful Miraculous in the world. But there are two others, the Butterfly and the Peacock. They have been corrupted and… made evil! They are sending out the akuma to infect people and turn them into weapons of Chaos."

Marinette gasped, remembering something. "Master Fu… knew me. He knew me! He said he was glad to have found me. What's going on, Wayzz?"

"You have been chosen by Master Fu to wield the Ladybug miraculous. He had divined for years searching for the right user. That user is you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

"… How?"

"This I do not know." Wayzz turned his tiny gaze on Luka. "I do not know you, either. You are not a chosen… yet you took to the Black Cat well. Still, that Miraculous was for another…"

"Great, thanks. Really boosting my morale here after me busting my ass," Luka sighed. "You want me to return it?"

"No," the old man sighed after waking up. "No. You are more than worthy to wield the Black Cat." He slowly sat up and groaned. "I apologize to you both. Wayzz, here." He pulled out a thermos from his oversized sleeves and unscrewed the cap. The tiny turtle took the entire thing, which was 5 times bigger than it, and drank it all, whatever was in it. "I am Wang Fu, Guardian of the Miraculous. The Butterfly and Peacock were lost and corrupted many years ago, and it seems they have now fallen into the wrong hands. Nothing happened for many of those years, but… not now. There has been nothing but trouble for the past three years, a trail of darkness being carved from the land of ancients to the Western countries to here," he paused to cough.

Luka and Marinette both rushed in to hold up the old man as he doubled over. "I can go back down and get you some water," Marinette said.

Fu nodded gratefully, but grabbed her arm before she turned away. "The both of you must not let anyone else know your identity. Keep it secret, keep it safe, so whoever has the Butterfly and Peacock cannot find you."

Marinette looked surprised. "Wait, didn't everyone see us transform on the ground?"

"Shelter provides visual cover as well as a shield," Master Fu replied. "Your friend took us away before anyone saw."

She nodded. Master Fu looked at Luka and Luka shrugged. "Alright. Think you'll be okay by yourself, kitty?" She smiled at Luka.

Luka raised an eyebrow. "Kitty?" He ran his hand over his head and discovered he had… an extra set of ears. They felt like stiff leather and had metal trim? That was bizarre. "I'm a big cat, Ladybug. Call me a tiger or something."

"You're wearing black all over!" She laughed. He looked down at his clothes. Wow, so he was.

"Fine, a panther then. Call me Panthera, I guess," he suggested, using one of his favorite classic bands. For some reason Luka felt his ring… _appreciate_ that? What the fuck?

She beamed at him, then took another look at her own outfit, which was red with black polka dots. "Alright, Panthera. Then I'm your Ladybug!" She got up and winked, then jumped down backwards off the roof.

"She's… unbelievably brave. I'm in love," Luka said to no one in particular, except Wang Fu probably heard him. Wait, what about that… that ex-villain guy? He didn't _look_ evil anymore. It seemed like other guy on the roof was sleeping or… or was dead. "I need to check on that man," Luka said to Master Fu, who tiredly nodded. Luka walked up and felt the other man's pulse, feeling his own heart calm down after confirming the man was really unconscious and really not dead. "You should probably come with me," he said quietly. He picked him up and threw the man over his shoulder.

"Mmnn?" The man woke up and Wayzz went into hiding. "JESUS! What the hell?!"

Luka put him down. "Sorry. You alright, man?"

"Uh… uh… I think so? What the hell are you? Wh-where are we? Are you… a stunt man? Are we filming a movie? I didn't sign up for this!"

"Me neither," Luka shrugged. "You probably want to come with me to get an explanation, though."

Marinette flew back up to the roof and landed gently, having fetched a glass of water from somewhere. "Here, Master Fu."

"Oh my god! Did-did you just FLY? Is this real? What the hell is going on?" The de-evilized guy moaned.

Master Fu sighed after drinking his water. "You have been possessed by a demon. These two, Ladybug and Panthera, just saved your life and the lives of many others."

"W… what?" The guy said quietly.

"Did you feel any anger? Any sadness? What is your last memory before you ended up here?" The elderly man asked.

"I… I remember my… my wife just left me!" The unknown man wailed, falling to his knees. Luka and Marinette both cringed. "She said everything about me was wrong and she couldn't handle it anymore!"

"I am sorry," Master Fu sighed. "You were attacked. You are safe now. You should rest." Fu laid his hand against the man's head and whispered an incantation. The man crumpled back into slumber. "The Butterfly and the Peacock both attach themselves to people who are… deeply affected by their emotions. The stronger the rage or despair, the stronger the akuma will be."

"That… that means they can be _anywhere!_ There's so many things going on at any given time for any one person! Oh my god," Marinette gasped, covering her mouth.

"One thing that may save us is that the Butterfly or the Peacock wielder has to be nearby to affect any one person, and only one person. The corruption broke the miraculous and weakened it, which means its… range and effectiveness are greatly reduced."

"Wait, so they're nearby? Do we look for them now?" Luka asked.

"Effectiveness? That means… it could have been _worse_?" Marinette asked.

"No, and yes." Master Fu said. "This akuma traveled far. I lost track of where this man came from, I'm sorry to say. But yes, it could have been worse." Marinette and Luka looked at each other in shock. "Again, I apologize to you two. I know you have not chosen this path, so I must ask now. Given what you've seen… will you continue to fight this corruption with me?"

"I… I'm… just a normal girl?" Marinette said. "I mean, I-I-I… I don't… I'm no hero!"

"That's not what you look like to me," Luka said, stepping in front of her and placing a hand on her shoulder. "You rushed out to Fu to help him before we knew what was going on. You took to your abilities like a fish to water. You said you had no idea what was going on and still did what needed doing. You're amazing, Marinette."

She flushed red. "I'm just good at following instructions!"

"But you did that and more," Master Fu followed up. "You, young man, what is your name?"

Luka turned to face the old man. "I'm Luka Couffaine."

"Luka… hmm, I _do_ know of you," Master Fu said quietly. "You have done what I asked and also took initiative, you leapt into battle with no hesitation, you risked your own safety to help others… You are a natural born warrior, a defender. Wayzz and I may not have expected you, but you've performed admirably for the impossibility we asked. I… am amazed by you as well, Luka."

Luka just raised an eyebrow. "I had to help."

Master Fu had an inscrutable smile. "So again, I ask. Will you two continue to fight?"

"I will," Luka said easily. "This shit is crazy, but I will."

"Luka!" Marinette yelled. "You… you just signed up for… for all this?"

"If these things are going to put my friends and family— _anyone_ in danger, you can sure as hell expect me to try to stop it!"

She looked up at him, starry-eyed. "Then… if… if you need a partner, then… I'll do my best," she said quietly.

"Thank you, thank you both so much," Fu sighed, overwhelmed with relief.

"But who was this… miraculous thing _supposed_ to go to?" Luka asked. "Don't you need… that person?"

"I… was always open to the possibility of another," Fu said, dodging the question. "It doesn't matter. You have it. You will keep it. You will keep everyone safe with it."

"How… do we go back to normal?" Marinette asked.

"The Miraculous needs to be on your body to know intent. You may dismiss your transformation at any time by telling your kwami to power down."

Luka looked thoughtful. "Plagg, was it? Plagg, power down." Another flash of blue and Luka went back to his normal attire, and the black cat kwami suddenly appeared before him, staring Luka down. "Goddamn—" Luka flinched back, taken by surprise.

"You're half right with the god part, kid." The little cat yawned again. "Hey, you got any food? I'm hungry!"

"Tikki, power down please?" Marinette asked. She also went back to wearing her tank and shorts and sneakers after a pink flash.

"Hello Marinette!" Said the pink kwami, now floating in front of Marinette. "I'm pleased to meet you! I've waited so long!"

Fu pulled out another box from his oversized sleeves and opened it. "While kwami are mystical creatures, they still need to be fed," Fu told the two younger adults.

"Cheese!" Cried the little cat.

"Cookies!" Cried the little bug(?)

"What the fuck," Luka said under his breath. "Cheese?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly different Miraculous! I wanted to make Lukanette with a bit more action ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


	4. Rippin' through like a missile

"YOU STUPID FUCKS!" Juleka yelled at both Luka and Marinette when they finally made their way back to the bar. Wang Fu had taken the other man down to an ambulance that had pulled up nearby. "YOU STUPID GODDAMN FUCKHEADS!" The tall model ran at them and tackled them both in a tight hug. "The... the people here were telling me you RAN OUT? There was—there was a fucking goddamned MONSTER outside!" Juleka started sobbing and went limp, letting go of both Marinette and Luka.

"Jules, I'm here. I'm here," Luka said, catching his sister. Juleka wrapped her arms around Luka's shoulders and kept sobbing. He hugged back.

"Marinette! Luka! Are you okay?" Ivan called out. He and Rose pulled up next to Marinette and checked her over. "We heard you guys ran and got hit with lightning!" Ivan stepped next to Juleka and Luka, making sure the other man was alright.

"What? We're fine," Marinette said.

"Why did you run out there in the first place?!" Rose yelled.

"We saw someone getting hurt! I wasn't just going to stand by and watch!" Marinette said.

"Guys. We're here now," Luka said calmly over everyone. "Let's take a breath, okay?"

"You goddamn stupid fucker," Juleka cried, slightly muffled as she started hugging Luka tighter. "Don't you ever, ever, ever leave me!"

"It was terrifying, wasn't it?" Ivan asked gently. "It was frightening to lose track of Luka and Marinette." Juleka nodded, but didn't let go of her brother.

"What did you guys see?" Marinette asked. "A m-monster?"

"We… thought it was a monster. Some guy was throwing _lightning_ everywhere? He had lightning bolts in his hands, Marinette. How could it not be a monster?" Ivan asked.

"We… think we also saw a man and… a lady with wings?" Rose said, unsure of her recollection. "It was very strange, but I think those two were… fighting the lightning monster."

"O-oh," Marinette said, not sure how to respond.

"Man, that was wild. All three of them disappeared too," Ivan said. "I think we're done here. Let's take a break for 30 minutes. We'll see what happens on the news, get ourselves up to speed."

"That sounds like a good idea but I actually have to go!" Marinette said. "Damn it, it's already 12? Ugh… I-it was nice meeting everyone… again!" She said nervously, awkwardly trying to get her things together to leave.

"Wait, Marinette," Luka called out and tried to run after Marinette, but Juleka grabbed his arm.

"NO!" Juleka was panicking. "No, no, no."

"Ah, Jules," Luka sighed, mostly concerned.

"No leaving. No leaving me!" His sister yelled, hyperventilating. But she also grabbed onto Marinette's arm. "Not leaving!"

"Um?" Marinette asked.

"Juleka, honey, take a breath," Rose said consolingly.

"They are NOT leaving!" Juleka said decisively, her iron grip firm but… at least it didn't hurt too badly.

"Okay. Okay, Jules, I'm here. I'm not leaving." Luka turned back to his sister.

"Hey, Juleka," Ivan said gently. "We'll stay here. We're here with you. I'm sorry, Marinette, I know it's late, but will you stay here with us for a little bit longer?"

"Oh… um…"

"You can sleep over at our place," Rose suggested. "It's close. We'll call a taxi for you tomorrow morning."

"Just… just a little bit, please," Juleka said.

Marinette looked at Luka, but he was looking at his sister. "It's okay. I'll stay."

They walked to a relatively private, enclosed space and Marinette hadn't realized it, but she was exhausted. She sat next to Juleka on the inside of a booth table while her friend was working on her breathing, and the gentle, regular exhalations of the tall model next to her became longer, then deeper, then Marinette was asleep. She had curled up into a loose ball, her arms wrapped around her knees. Rose almost woke her up but Juleka and Ivan both wanted to leave Marinette be.

Ivan left earliest, having made sure that everyone else was alright, that they had whatever was needed. Rose held Juleka's hands while Luka carefully pulled out and picked Marinette up, all packing into a cab to go the few minutes it took to Rose and Juleka's apartment. Luka placed Marinette gently against their couch, covered her in a blanket, and had a quick chat with Rose and Juleka to say goodnight. He was leaving when Marinette woke up.

She saw the hallway light flicker off and she recognized Luka's hazy silhouette when the door opened in and the external apartment lights shone through. "Wait!" She reached out to him and tumbled off the couch. He turned around, turning the inside light back on.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Fine, I'm fine," Marinette sighed, pushing herself off the floor. "Can… can we talk?"

Rose popped out of the bedroom. "Are you alright? We heard a noise…"

"Sorry! I fell. I… I need to talk to Luka for a minute, though, can I step outside?"

"That's fine, take your time," Rose said. "Don't worry about waking us up when you come back in."

Marinette worked herself out from her blanket tangle and stepped outside with Luka, who closed the door behind her. "I… I have to ask, did all that… miraculous stuff happen?"

He smiled. "Maybe we had a shared hallucination?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a napkin that Wang Fu had scribbled his number on. "Maybe not."

Marinette sighed, sinking down onto the floor with her back to the wall. "What… are you going to do?"

He reached out a hand to her. "First, get ourselves something warm to drink. Coffee?" She took his hand and he pulled her up. "I live right next door."

Marinette smiled. "I thought most people usually stayed far away from their siblings."

He opened his apartment and turned on the lights. "Probably. We lost our mom when we were in University. I don't know anything about our father, so… it was just us." He motioned for Marinette to come in.

"Oh, god, I'm sorry," she said, hands covering her mouth as she walked in. That explained Juleka's previous panic.

"Like I said earlier, you apologize too much." He closed the door behind her. "You didn't know. You didn't even know to ask."

Marinette shrugged. "I know I say I'm sorry just to… fill the void sometimes. It's easier for me to say that than to stop myself from saying anything at all."

"You're pretty aware of it, then?"

"Trust me, I know. People have crutches they use to get through life, and that's mine. It's convenient that 'sorry' happens to be what a lot of people want to hear." Marinette looked around, unintentionally starting to break Luka's lifestyle down and categorize him _._

He had a pretty minimalist setup, but a lot of… musical equipment? Sound equipment? Both? It was barren and sparse on the creature comforts, the required backdrop elements of living. She wasn't surprised when he ground his own beans and used a pour-over. It was… Clean. Straightforward. Quality. So was the couch and the coffee table, she noticed when she sat down.

Rose and Juleka's apartment had clashing and complementing furniture and knick-knacks and decorations. It was just a combination of the two personalities thrown together. Here, Luka was on his own, and everything just spoke volumes about how… unconcerned he was. Or rather, that he probably didn't spend that much time in his own apartment.

He poured out two glasses of dark coffee, realized something and walked out of his own apartment, leaving Marinette alone and confused. He came back with sugar and creamer, taken from his sister's kitchen. "Here," he said, setting it next to her cup.

"Thanks," she said, adding probably too much creamer and sugar. She couldn't stand bitter. He raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't say anything, instead taking a minute to enjoy his own cup. Marinette cleared her throat after chugging half the cup. "Hey, I… how do I even talk about this? Did… did we just sign up to be superheroes?"

Luka just smiled. "Sounds like it."

"How… do we… get started?" She asked. "By the way, I'm just really tired and asking rhetorical questions. You don't have to answer. I just…" She trailed off, not knowing what she was saying, and finished her coffee.

"I think one way we can get started is for you to have my number." He pulled out his phone and navigated to his own contact information, then placed it in front of Marinette. "I'm not sure why Wang Fu said you needed a partner, but… when you do, you can call me."

"Are you talking for business or for pleasure?" Marinette giggled as she copied his phone number into her phone. His eyes widened and he blushed a bit, but she didn't notice. She sent a text to him and attached a picture of herself for his reference, though after the fact she felt silly having done that. She felt silly in general. The exhaustion came back in full force after she sat down and had a warm drink. "I sent a text," she yawned.

it me

His phone pinged and he smiled at the text. "Got it." He created a new contact with the picture she sent, a selfie of her and Juleka after one of their photoshoots. He wrote a small note in her contact information: "Don't fuck this up." He looked back up at her and she was fast asleep again.


	5. Raise your weapon

"… various eyewitness testimonies have stated that there were three unidentified individuals, likely one female and two male, that interacted with the anomaly last night near the vicinity of…" Marinette bolted upright, suddenly awake. _Oh my god what time is it_ , she asked herself. She looked around, completely unfamiliar with her surroundings. _WHERE AM I?_

"Marinette?" Rose said gently. "You're safe and unharmed in my apartment. I'm Rose, if you don't remember. Juleka invited you last night to meet us and… a lot of things happened."

Marinette was back on Rose and Juleka's couch, wrapped up in a large plush grey blanket that didn't seem like it was either Rose or Juleka's. Rose had turned their flatscreen on and was watching from the kitchen. She had the news at a low volume, but Marinette could recognize her best friend's voice from anywhere. Alya Cesaire-Lahiffe was broadcasting on TVi news. It sounded like a recap with the various cuts and edits of talking heads weaving its way in with the persistent ticker saying "BREAKING NEWS" at the bottom of the screen.

"… police are still investigating… All Parisians are to stay away from the unidentified individuals as they may be armed and dangerous… please report any suspicious activity to your local authorities… any further anomalies will be…"

Marinette shook her head, trying to wake up. Rose smiled gently. "Would you like anything to drink, Marinette?"

"Um… tea would be amazing right now." Marinette groaned.

"Black or green?"

"Um… green would be fine."

"I'll get some for you," Rose said cheerfully.

"What time is it? Where's… where's Juleka? And Luka?"

"It's around 9am. They're getting us breakfast as an apology to you," Rose said.

"Apology?"

"For pretty much kidnapping you, I think! Also, I'm sorry."

"Oh… I don't feel tied up or anything."

"… I don't think you want me to comment on that," Rose giggled.

"OH! God, I'm sorry, I just… my mouth keeps running off," Marinette cringed.

"It's okay. We've been through a lot," Rose laughed. "I hope you're not upset."

"No, I'm fine. Thanks for letting me sleep here," Marinette shrugged.

"Please, it was the least we could do."

Rose and Marinette watched the recap in companionable silence and it wasn't too long before the door opened and Juleka announced "We're back." She walked in and kissed Rose after setting down a few brown paper bags.

"Hi Marinette," Luka said, following Juleka in with additional takeout bags. "Would you like to have breakfast with us?"

She blinked bleary eyes up at the group, then rubbed an eye with the back of her hand. "That… sounds great."

"It's on the news again," Juleka sighed. "Anything actually new come up?"

"No," Rose answered. "There were some amateur footage but it was really blurry. I could swear we saw the woman fly, no one caught that though."

"What about that… dude in black? Or that old one?" Juleka asked. Marinette tried to peek at Luka and found him peeking at her. They both immediately turned away from each other, blushing.

"Nothing new," Rose said. "Anyhow, let's eat. I'm sorry, Marinette, we didn't know what you'd like so… looks like we got a bit of everything."

"Oh, I can pay," Marinette started.

"No," Juleka and Luka said at the same time. They laughed. "It's our treat for last night being so fucking weird," Juleka concluded.

"Eh, I mean, who'd have thought we'd be involved in that?" Marinette yawned. "But… thank you. Oh god I'm taking up the couch," she fussed, gathering the blanket around her after realizing that the rest of them were standing.

"Let's eat at the table," Luka chuckled.

* * *

Marinette left by taxicab after having breakfast with the Couffaines and Rose, ensuring them all that there were absolutely no hard feelings and she would come by and see them play again. On her ride back to her tiny, top-level, closet-sized apartment she realized her phone was dead. She started charging it again and took a long overdue luxurious hot shower.

Her phone had 7 message or voicemail notifications - from the previous night to the morning - when she got out of the shower and was able to check her phone. 2 were from Alya, 1 was from Nino, 2 were from her mother, and 1 was a message from a coworker. The last message was from Luka. All but Luka's were asking if she was nearby the _event_ and if she was okay, which she spent a frantic couple of minutes replying to with various flavors of "My phone died! I'm okay! I'm in my apartment!"

That would do for now. She checked Luka's message.

This is Luka. Wang Fu's number is +33____  
Hope this doesn't wake you. What would you like for breakfast? My treat

She pulled up the photos she took of Kitty Section last night, scrolling to find any decent picture of Luka. She found herself staring at one in particular, a great shot of him looking down at the audience with a megawatt smile. She used that one as his contact picture. She put in a few notes for herself in his contact information: "Big kitty 🐆" and "don't fuck this up".

She jumped when her phone started ringing with "🧡 Alya 🧡" as the caller. Marinette picked up the call. "Hey Al—"

"Oh my god! Marinette! Wasn't last night so freakin' crazy?! I only have a few minutes before I get back on but oh my god. I think we got some bonafide superheroes!"

"W-why would there be superheroes?"

"Girl, did you not SEE the latest news? Someone found footage from a security camera! There's some cray cray stuff with a lady with _literal wings_ and… a catboy? And some old green dude throwing freakin' ninja stars!" Oh god there was footage. Marinette opened up her laptop and immediately started browsing her news feeds until she found a clip of the security footage. It thankfully was a bad angle that didn't show them de-transforming, but it did show 80% of the fight. There were some green, blue, and pink flashes that people had been theorizing about in the video comments. "I'm assuming you're watching it now, right?!"

"Holy shit," Marinette whispered.

"You found it?! I knowww oh my god all my teenage dreams are coming true, holy crap!" Alya giggled manically.

"But you know there are only superheroes when there are SUPERVILLAINS Alya! This isn't good!"

Alya took in a deep breath and sighed. "I know, I know. This is honestly a pretty freakin' extreme nightmare. But I have to look at the bright side, you know? Journalism is pretty effed up these days. Anyway, gotta go, I just had to talk to you. I'm glad to hear from you, finally! Love you babe!"

"Love you too, Alya. Bye." Marinette heard the call end and stared at her phone. She was back to looking at Luka's contact information.

we're famous

She sent that text to Luka. Then she tried to call Wang Fu, except there was an emergency alert that cut her call halfway to dialing out. Her phone was blaring and she took a look at the message.

ALL ARE ADVISED TO STAY INDOORS  
LOCK ALL DOORS AND WINDOWS  
DO NOT TRY TO ENGAGE WITH ENTITY

She ran to her window and looked outside. A black and purple cloud of butterflies loomed overhead that formed a giant and imposing… face? It boomed out a thunderous voice.

" _People of Paris, listen carefully. I am Hawkmoth._ "

All of a sudden Tikki appeared by her side and Marinette yelped, falling backwards. "Oh no," said the pink kwami. "This is bad."

Her phone rang and she picked it up. "Marinette," Luka said simply. There were so many layers of concern in her name when he said it.

"Luka…" She whispered. "We need to respond."

She heard him take in breath. "On my way."

" _What you saw before was merely the beginning of my power. I will not stop my reign of terror until I have what I desire… Give me the Miraculous of Ladybug and Black Cat!_ "

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug cried out after transforming, flying closer to the maelstrom of butterflies. Her twin blades sung in the air as she cut through the black cloud, charging the air around her with white static. She could hear helicopters approaching. What the fuck did people think they were doing?!

" _There you are, little bug,_ " the now scarred giant face said, the storm of butterflies turning toward Ladybug.

"Oh fuck," she said to herself. She flew away from the storm, but it was gaining on her. She made a point to fly away from the helicopters, at least. She made an acute sharp turn in the air and ran her blades through the glut of butterflies that got caught by surprise. The rest of the swarm flew around and underneath to entrap her. "Shit, shit, shit!"

There was a crash of thunder and the butterflies all around her turned into black smoke. She got a glimpse of black and gunmetal before Panthera snatched her from midair, the both of them falling toward a building. Panthera landed in a crouch with Ladybug cradled in his arms, a trail of black smoke funneling into his ring.

"J-just in time!" She panic-laughed.

"That… is a big fucking problem," he growled, looking up at the storm-face-thing.

_Oh no, where were the swords?_ She looked around and Panthera realized he was still holding onto her. He let her down gently but she seemed too preoccupied. "Did you… did you see where I lost my swords?"

"They come back," he said. "Just call them out again."

"How are you so calm?" She breathed.

He laughed. "I'm not. Just… feels like a bad dream. Cataclysm!" His warhammer manifested itself in his hand.

She extended her hands out and called out "Lucky Charm!" Her swords reappeared in her hands and she felt overwhelming relief. Unconsciously, they both fell into a defensive stance, back to back. The helicopters were hovering nearby the heroes.

"Before we… go, I found out that _we_ can throw lightning."

"Meaning what?"

"That last asshole. I think we took his powers."

Ladybug pointed a sword at the butterfly cloud. "Do I just—" Her sword shimmered a bright white and a bolt shot out, obliterating a hole through the cloud. "OH MY GOD!"

Panthera laughed hard. "That should even the odds!"

"Are you fucking kidding me," Ladybug shuddered. "Lu—Panthera, we… did we…"

"I think our weapons _eat_ the butterflies and take their powers." Both Ladybug and Panthera felt their Miraculous _agree_. "Jesus, that's weird."

"You felt that too?"

"Creepy as hell."

" _You're both here,_ " the cloud boomed. " _Give me your miraculous!_ "

"SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU LUNATIC!" Panthera shouted at the sky. "I'M NOT GIVING INTO YOUR DEMANDS!"

"Did you see Jade Turtle?" Ladybug asked quietly.

"We're on our own," Panthera sighed. "I think. I didn't see him."

"… Alright, then. It's you and me, partner." Ladybug readied her swords, both crackling with white lightning.

"Let's take it down," Panthera growled, his hammer sparking with black lightning.

They launched themselves into the air and there were sprays of white and black lightning where sword or hammer made contact with the butterflies, simultaneously blinding and devoid of light. With an unspoken agreement, Ladybug kept catching Panthera as he fell from his arc and helped swing him back into the storm.

The butterfly cloud howled in response, growing thinner with each strike. " _You have not seen the last of Hawkmoth!_ "

"Oh my god," Ladybug groaned in contempt. "SHUT UP!"

Ladybug and Panthera landed back on the roof, streams of white and black particles streaming into their weapons. Both were breathing hard, watching the remnants of the butterfly storm fade. Then, a little girl formed from what was the center of the cloud, falling toward the earth. Ladybug flew in and caught her. Panthera had at the same time leapt in closer, waiting where the little girl would have landed with his arms extended to catch her. One of the helicopters that had been hovering nearby landed on the same roof as the heroes. The rotors spun down and a tiny news crew spilled out.

"Do we want to be here?" Panthera asked quietly to Ladybug, who was holding the unconscious girl in her arms after she floated down.

"I… think we should probably try to tell them we're on the good side," Ladybug replied. One of the other helicopters also landed nearby, disgorging people with armor and weapons. "Like, immediately," Ladybug said with increasing panic. Ladybug laid the child down carefully. Both she and Panthera raised their hands in surrender.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Real question: will Luka and Marinette keep "running into each other" every 12 hours?
> 
> It's my birthday, and my gift to you is this chapter! But also I'm allowed to be a tiny bit selfish right? I know I'm targeting a smaller audience but I'd love it if you guys shared this story <3


	6. It's like you hit me with lightning

"STEP AWAY FROM THE CHILD!" One of the helicopters yelled at them. Ladybug and Panthera both stepped backwards several feet, hands still in the air. An armored officer walked slowly to the girl and checked her vitals, all the while being covered by his squad with their assault weapons at the ready. There was some signal given and a stretcher was pulled out by two more officers.

Another officer yelled at the news crew. "Do not approach any further or we'll fire!"

"We just want to ask questions! Hey, what are you?!" The male reporter shouted at the heroes from a safe distance. "Are you working with the UN Heroes Alliance? Are you in league with Majestia and Sparrow?"

"I-I… I'm…" Ladybug hesitated. "W-w-we're…" She started breathing harder, unsure of herself. She switched to being intent on watching the little girl get carried away safely, taking some measure of comfort in that.

"We are Panthera and Ladybug," Panthera said when he noticed Ladybug was distracted.

"Can you tell us what happened? Do you know who Hawkmoth is?" The reporter asked. "You said you weren't going to give in to their demands, but does that mean you're putting Paris at risk of further retaliation?!"

Ladybug balked. "U-um… we were—"

The male reporter was relentless. "Are you the same individuals from last night? What can you tell us about the anomaly? Where is the other individual that you were with?"

"DO NOT APPROACH!" One of the officers shouted at the news crew, who were slowly inching in. Half of the officers aimed toward the civilians.

The police helicopter yelled at everyone. "Stand down! Keep your cool, people, we don't want any incidents. We have orders to detain you two for further questioning."

"Why won't you answer our questions?!" The reporter yelled. "What's going on?! What do you know about Hawkmoth and why have they appeared now?!"

"I'd tell you if I knew!" Ladybug shouted, fed up with being interrogated. "We were asked to fight, so that's what we're here to do!"

The reporter asked, "How do we know you're not in league with Hawkmoth?!"

Ladybug glared at him, then put her hands down. Her wings extended out and high behind Panthera and shimmered in the sunlight. All weapons aimed at her and Panthera.

"Hey… Ladybug… what are you doing?" Panthera asked nervously, watching her, his hands still up.

She straighten herself up, seemingly growing larger than life as the air crackled white around her. She took Panthera's hand and lowered it, not letting go. He dropped his other hand. Black flickers of lightning joined the white patterns. "Let me make this promise to you. No matter who wants to harm you, no matter what difficulties we face, Ladybug and Panthera will do everything in our power to keep Paris safe." She turned her head to face the camera directly. "Hawkmoth - no matter how long it takes we _will_ find you, we will _stop_ you, and _you_ will hand over _your_ Miraculous to us!"

A split second later, Ladybug and Panthera disappeared.

It took a couple awkward seconds of silence as Ladybug and Panthera blinked to process what just happened. One moment they seemed to be on top of a roof in Downtown Paris surrounded by armed police and news people and… in a dimly lit tea room the next. "I fear that perhaps you two were in over your heads," Master Fu said, wearing a pair of circular black rimmed glasses and a dark grey cloak over a black suit. He was holding a kris dagger, the blade iridescent and shimmering but razor thin, sharp enough to tear through air molecules. "Though your speech was… quite heroic."

Ladybug facepalmed with both hands. "Oh god. Why did I do that?"

"I… thought that was pretty cool of you," Panthera laughed.

"Panthera, I am so, so sorry. I promised the both of us to dealing with this stupid shit in front of EVERYONE!"

Panthera chuckled. "I basically did the same for myself last night. It just wasn't in front of a news broadcast."

"Augh," she sighed.

"Kaalki, power down," Wang Fu said, de-transforming. The black suit, cloak, and dagger disappeared with a grey flash of light. A small horse kwami appeared to say hi to Ladybug and Panthera. "This is Kaalki. She is the kwami of Shifting. It is unfortunate Hawkmoth had decided to strike again so soon after our first meeting. I have much to tell you both."

"Well, looks like there are more of you tiny gods around now," Panthera sighed. "Plagg, power down."

Plagg yawned. "Yeah, there's 19 of us. Hey Fu, where's the good stuff?" Wang Fu inclined his head toward a small fridge and Plagg phased through.

"Did… did that thing just go _through_ the door?" Luka asked.

"Hey! I'm a kwami!" Plagg said, half his body hanging out the front of the fridge. He phased back inside.

Ladybug de-transformed and Tikki appeared. "Kwami are made of magic!" Tikki announced. "We don't have physical bodies except for the Miraculous."

"Oookay, then," Marinette commented. "Let's step back a few…" She looked at Master Fu, who coughed and stared at the floor. Luka was also turned away from her and she could see red on his neck and ears. "What's going on?"

"Oh! Marinette, you forgot pants!" Tikki giggled.

Marinette blanched after looking down. "I… oh fuck, I just got out of the shower! Tikki, transform me!" She had worn a bralette and panties, at least! She was in the middle of drying her hair when she checked her phone! Ladybug sat down on the floor and covered her face with her hands. "Kill me now."

Master Fu chuckled, looking up. "I cannot. Even were I capable of doing so your suit provides near perfect protection."

"Hey kid, haven't you ever seen a girl before? Why are you so scared of her?" Plagg appeared again to ask Luka, the little cat's mouth half full of cheese. Luka just sighed but turned back around, unable to look at Ladybug. His cheeks were still pink.

" _Near_ perfect?" Ladybug asked, hoping to move the conversation along.

Master Fu continued. "While transformed, the kwami can protect you from mortal dangers. The suits they sheathe you in are impenetrable. You may have noticed that Panthera can leap vast heights and distances, and yet can land without breaking? That is Plagg's doing."

"You're welcome," the cat mumbled.

"While I do not recommend standing in front of the firing line, bullets will not harm you. Swords will not cut you. Fires will not burn the suit, but you may be quite uncomfortable inside. I believe you get the idea," Fu said.

"Alright, that's one less thing to worry about when we inevitably get shot at," Luka frowned. "What _can_ harm us when we're powered up?"

"Other kwami powers," Plagg said.

"Like the butterflies," Master Fu clarified. "And the so-called gifts the Butterfly give the possessed."

"I was going to ask you about the kwami. You said Kaalki was… Shifting?" Ladybug asked.

"Yes. Plagg is the kwami of Decay. Tikki is the kwami of Purity. Wayzz is the kwami of Defense," Fu answered.

"And how does that have anything to do with what we do?" Luka asked.

Fu explained. "You two have already noticed a direct relation to your abilities. Plagg and Tikki are the most powerful of all because they can both _consume_. Tikki will take in corruption and purify it to her bearer's will. Plagg will consume the corruption returning decay instead at the direction of his bearer's will."

"The butterflies taste icky. Not as tasty as cheese is!" Plagg complained.

"I thought cats were lactose intolerant," Luka muttered.

"What part of _I'm a kwami_ didn't you hear?" Plagg shot back.

"You're enough of an irritating bastard to be a real cat." Luka grinned.

Plagg laughed. "I like this one, Fu!"

"Okay, so Plagg and Tikki eat corruption," said Ladybug. "Why does Hawkmoth want both of the miraculous?"

Plagg looked at Fu, and the elderly man looked back at the cat kwami before answering. "The two combined, the Black Cat and the Ladybug, grants the bearer one ultimate wish."

"It's a real zinger, though," Plagg commented quietly. "Really messes with the universe."

"A wish? That's pretty vague," Luka said. "Do you get to… what, bring someone back from the dead?"

Master Fu smiled an inscrutable smile again. "Yes, Luka Couffaine. That is a possibility."

"So you just… gave out those two miraculous to _us_?" Ladybug asked, appalled. "That seems… like such a huge risk! I mean, I could just take Luka's ring right now and wish for something!"

"And what would you wish for?" Fu asked.

"I… dunno, world peace?" Ladybug shrugged.

"Ah, noble. But it would come at a cost. Do you know what peace is, Ladybug?"

"… Calm?"

"In a sense, yes. Peace is stillness. Inactivity. Peace means there is no life. A wish for world peace is a wish for a lifeless world. After all, what does peace mean to the cosmos?"

"Marinette brings up a good point. Why would you pull out the two most powerful miraculous and then just hand it over to some random people?" Luka asked, fidgeting with the ring on his index finger.

"Do you trust one another?" Master Fu asked. Ladybug looked at Luka and Luka looked at Ladybug.

"I… think so?" Luka said hesitantly, rubbing his neck. "We're good as a team."

"I'm pretty sure you've saved my life 15 times over," Ladybug told Luka. "And we've only known each other for less than a day!"

"Would you kill one another if it meant you could save the world?" Plagg asked. Both Luka and Ladybug looked up in shock at the cat kwami. "Seriously, would you? If Marinette turns evil and tries to kill Juleka, would you stop her, Luka?"

"Y—" Luka started, then snapped his mouth shut.

"If Luka tries to harm your friends and family, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, would you stop him?"

"We'd be able to… talk things out, wouldn't we?" Ladybug suggested weakly.

"If either of you were to fall to the Butterfly or Peacock, there is no room for discussion," Master Fu said gravely. "I understand the companionship you two have had to build over the past few hours. It is difficult to imagine that it might change so soon, but you two must be wary of that. But the two most powerful miraculous are in your hands because they are the few that are able to fight back."

"You're good kids, I can tell," Plagg said. "The both of you are so kind and giving and helpful, it kinda disgusts me. But you two are also smart. So be friends. Be a team. Work together. Know each other. Support each other and watch each other's backs. But don't forget that you both are here to fight. You two must know when to let go." Plagg flew out in front of Ladybug and Luka, making sure their eyes were on him. "Because this is universe number 2."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really am just making this up as I go along, hahaha


	7. It takes two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: [_Mind reverts back to that of a 7 year old girl frantically smashing her dolls' faces into each other yelling NOW KIIIISSSSSSS_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs4V0PnbZmc)
> 
> Also me: Goes from 0 to intensely suggestive/raunchy quick, so reader discretion? I'm making myself earn that M rating! ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
> [Here's a sketch of what I think the transformed duo looks like, btw](https://mangoes-n-cream.tumblr.com/post/189657008850/i-got-lazy-with-coloring-luka-just-has-his-bangs)

It had been months. Months. And Luka was still unable to move past his crush on Marinette.

They also weren't much further than the beginning in tracking down where the Butterfly or Peacock miraculous were.

Luka and Marinette had seen each other outside of the so-called uniforms fairly regularly. She tried to come to hang out with Kitty Section once a week, carving out a precious sliver of time from her packed schedule, at the cost of her personal brand. But she didn't seem to mind, and Juleka got the reasoning that Marinette just had to pick up the slack later. She showed up once wearing a pair of dusty pink cat ears, a bell collar, and a dusty pink strapless one-piece jumpsuit with a ribbon "tail" - all of which she fashioned herself - to support the band (allegedly) and Luka almost lost his shit.

Ivan, Juleka, and Rose kept coordinating all leaving or taking a break at the same time to further call attention to the awkward dance that Luka and Marinette set up around each other. It wasn't like they could really lay out the terms and conditions of their "working" relationship considering neither of them ever expected to be superheroes. There was also the vague threat that they needed to keep their distance from each other due to the whole "This is universe number 2" thing Plagg had dropped on them that first week.

But they didn't. It was hard because they genuinely enjoyed each other's company.

Luka had accidentally found her favorite little café when he had a free Tuesday afternoon and wandered around the city, going wherever his feet led him. Maybe it was a sign from the heavens that when he decided to get a cup of coffee, Marinette was getting her pick-me-up for the day at the same location at the same time. He had been standing in line and she gently tapped him on his arm and gave him one of the most dazzling smiles he'd ever seen in his life when he turned around. They both became regulars there for Tuesday lunches, which was good for Luka because he felt like a damn fool buying one cup of black coffee and loitering around just for a chance at seeing Marinette that second time. But she appeared, looking cheerful after she scanned the café and found him, and headed directly to the tiny table he grabbed while he was nervously sipping the decent but still rather pedestrian coffee. She talked about her work and inspirations and designs, and he loved listening. He talked about his work with music and about some of the children he interacted with at Rose's organization, and she hung on his every word.

The moments outside of fighting were the times he cherished most when he was with Marinette.

He still… enjoyed, he supposed, the times when they became powered up into Ladybug and Panthera, but he was having a hard time keeping up the professionalism. Ladybug was extremely flexible and she had made it… difficult for Panthera to concentrate on defending whenever she did high-kicks or bent over backwards to dodge incoming attacks from akuma demons. His job, at least, was easy. He wasn't necessarily the best at outright strategy, but as a brawler he knew he could just slam down his big fucking warhammer on monster heads when strategy was lost. His job was just to make sure Ladybug was alright so they could both obliterate the butterflies together and save the day.

Which meant watching her very, very closely. In her mostly skin tight body suit. While he was in his… _snug_ hero attire. The distractions had once meant getting accosted, getting _burned_ by the akuma butterflies when they swarmed on him. It was a searing, mind-numbing pain that felt _evil_ and _wrong_ and his entire body lit up in agony like a brand new nuclear fusion star was forming wherever the butterflies touched him. He had learned his lesson after that.

Maybe not well enough, since he caught himself occasionally staring in fascinated awe as Ladybug stretched and swayed and shimmied away from danger so he could step in and do damage. But well enough that he stopped being a complete liability to himself and to her.

They found that past the initial getting-in-the-fray to understand the random-ass demonic abilities, they fought together really well, being able to read intention and direction without having to explicitly explain or shout out the plan to the sometimes bombastic, overly-confident, cartoonish akumatized villains. Ladybug was the setup and Panthera was the tear-down. They kept it simple and they kept it moving and fluid while being able to cover each other.

After the first few fights, Panthera started taunting the villains and openly mocking them as a way to release pressure and vent. Ladybug laughed and occasionally joined in, completely understanding the need. They started competing with jokes and joke names for the villains. They amped it up to mild flirtation to piss off their audience. Over time, it became more and more outright raunchiness between each other in quick quips and heavy-handed teasing.

If fighting wasn't so fucking terrifying, it would have been _fun_. He seriously had it _bad_ for Marinette, but he maintained a casual detachment in the aftermath of their victory since she didn't continue flirting after the battle was done. Their civilian conversations over coffee or beers never trended romantic either. Anyway the adrenaline crash and resulting exhaustion killed any sort of primal, base desire for putting his body through any additional kind of exertion, even the fun kind.

Maybe that was sending the wrong message? Of course, maybe asking her to join him in testing the limits of her flexibility while he was deep inside her was also… the wrong message. It wasn't the right one, at least. The right one was to be able to have her enthusiastically agreeing to testing her flexibility on a regular basis. He hadn't gotten there yet. He wasn't sure how to get there. He really did want to get there, but he didn't want to... add pressure in any sense to the already pretty stressful lives they both had.

None of this flirting would have happened if the old man Fu hadn't said he couldn't keep fighting after Fu disappeared Ladybug and Panthera from the roof post 2nd akuma. Ladybug probably wouldn't be dropping sultry lines about trying out Panthera's _massive hammer_ if Fu was still present, so he had to pour a cold one out for the elderly Guardian. Master Fu was still taking a support role and teleporting them in and out of the fights, listening to their reports post-battle and gathering data on where the corrupted Miraculous could be, but he wasn't present in any fighting capacity.

Luka ultimately knew that the suggestive banter was just the result of nerves getting the better of both him and Ladybug. Who knew if she even meant any of what she teased. He thought about asking her to dinner a few times to get that ball rolling, but it’d probably throw off the delicate balance of caring enough about each other to defend and protect, and yet maintaining the emotional distance to allow your partner to be the _target_ of attacks by nearly limitless monsters. What they had now worked.

Getting tied up in a relationship was probably bad, no matter how often he wished he could sweep her off her feet and whisk her away to a private place to shower her in kisses and taste her mouth and skin and sweat and…

* * *

Distracted. Panthera blinked a few times, getting his bearings again. Right. She was drawing one of them near.

Ladybug did a vault backwards onto her hands, dodging a monster dog figure that lunged forward and lost balance as its target suddenly shifted. Panthera swung his warhammer into the monster's midsection, felt the handle vibrate in recoil, and… tore out a chunk of the black oozing wolf thing? That was disgusting! It splattered all over the nearby wall, but the monster now shifted into snarling at him. Well, getting pressure off of Ladybug was the point. She flew in, her swords singing as she plunged them into the wolf's mouth and slashed both outward, scraping against its obsidian teeth.

"How many of these assholes are there?!" She yelled, watching the dying monster dog to make sure it didn't get back up.

Panthera hated the akuma with minions. "Too many. We've got 4 left."

"Ugh," she groaned. They both leapt away from the all-too-obvious ambush attempt by the other wolf things, which immediately scattered again. "Let's find the akuma! I'm so tired," she sighed. They both walked in the direction the demon dogs came from.

Unfortunately, whoever controlled the Butterfly/Peacock were smart about what powers their possession gave victims, considering that Ladybug and Panthera were able to take it and send it back at them. They had dealt with more subtle, more defensive demons that hid or had minions do their bidding instead, like this one. The Butterfly/Peacock also realized that Ladybug and Panthera outclassed them when it came to the ranged offensive, their first "gift" having been fucking _lightning_ powers. So now their modus operandi was to tire the heroes out with extended fights.

The doggos here weren't affected at all by lightning, being made out of some oily tar. So they had to go in and handle things the hard way.

What had Ladybug and Panthera picked up from the previous battles? Lightning, levitation (useless for Ladybug), _dancing?_ Frightengale was an odd one. They could turn things into ice. That could be helpful here, but what was the freezing point of a goddamn hell-powered oil dog? All of the other akuma were purely based off of weapons or physical strength, and both Ladybug and Panthera seemed to gain nothing from them.

His body reacted on instinct and peripheral vision and he turned and swung the hammer down, driving the blunt weapon into the ground to crush the skull of the demon dog that had stalked him and Ladybug from the shadows.

"Good catch," Ladybug said, her hand on his arm. She had a penchant of touching him randomly. He didn't really mind. "I think the other 3 are the ones who attack together, so we're probably walking into a trap."

He nodded. "What kind of power do you think we're dealing with?"

"I have no idea… hmm. Black dogs. Oil. Tar. Living shadows? Boogiemen?"

"Maybe we should set them on fire," Panthera sighed.

"Not a bad idea, if you think it won't burn up the entirety of Paris."

"Ice the area first?"

"Hmm, possibly." Her eyes started scanning the area, jumping from item to object to item nearby. Panthera hid a smile, this was Ladybug at her most magical. She'd think up some ludicrous scheme, they'd run with it, eventually they'd have that domino effect of them gaining the upper hand, and they'd win. All he'd need to do was protect her.

It had always worked that way. So of course they were taken by surprise when the target was _him_ all along.


	8. It's up to me and you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I'm going to need some kind of tw: tags, but I have no idea what, actually?

It had been months. Months. Marinette still wasn't asked out… she _thought_ Luka was interested in her, she even got Juleka to more or less verify it in a very roundabout way, but he hadn't asked. Well, okay, Marinette kept complaining about how she had no time, but she would _make_ time to see him, didn't he _know_ that? He wouldn't because she never said, duh. Ugh, she was terrible at flirting, all the advice she had from Alya was to start dressing less… like herself and more like someone who was "on the prowl." Alya had come over and the best friends picked out something for Marinette to wear: they had chosen a strapless piece that Marinette only bought on an impulse and never wore before because it was so... showy?

Luka seemed like he was mostly shocked at her wearing something fancy (to a bar, granted) rather than impressed… He had been concerned that she'd get cold when she showed up in her Kitty Section inspired outfit and gave her his jacket, which was very kind of him but it dampened her ability to charm him by like, a lot, as it basically stopped her ability to shove what little cleavage she had in his face. At least, that's what Alya told Marinette to do. Cleavage! Play with her hair! Get some eye contact and bat her eyelashes! All the classic flirty things to do in bars.

Marinette forgot about all that. She and Luka just ended up talking about things as they normally did, they fell into a comfortable back and forth trading updates and jokes and he used his phone to play her a new song he was working on and she was thrilled that she was one of the first to hear it.

Maybe she should be happy that they ended up going to the same little café every Tuesday. She hadn't seen him there before, but once she told him it was her favorite little place to get tea and biscuits, he got the hint by showing up the next week. He was so easy to talk to and she loved his voice. She appreciated that he had patience listening to her ramble on about her work and creative disasters, and he just kept getting more and more attractive (somehow) the more he talked about music and helping kids. She loved the way he spoke, she loved the way he smiled and laughed, she loved the look in his eyes when he talked about something he made. God, she had it _bad_ for Luka.

Maybe she needed to be the one who asked for that date.

Of course, she did remember that Plagg told them that the universe ended once before because _someone_ involved in the cosmic-undoing wish wasn't able to "let go". But what did that mean? Did it mean she wasn't supposed to get involved with the very sweet and considerate and brave and tall and strong and _hot_ partner fate had bound her to? Was that even fair? Okay, "fair" wasn't the right word, but… if this was a test to see if she could learn the implied lesson Plagg was teaching, she wanted to _fail_.

* * *

Panthera's suggestion to set the demon dogs on fire was a start of great idea. She just needed to be able to control it, or direct it, but ideally both. They had to go to a safe, open space where she could see everything, then set up a perimeter to contain the dogs. Then they needed flammables. Fire-starting was easy since they had lightning powers, at least with her control.

It was an interesting discovery, that she had more finesse and fine-tuned control over their powers, but he had the bigger output and damage. The first few demons had gone down rather easily, with her using the flat of her blades to give a purely knock-out level of shock to their target. When Panthera tried it next, even attempting to be merely grazing his charged hammer to their bodies, the demon practically exploded or disintegrated or flew back hundreds of meters. Panthera swore he didn't intend to do that.

It was perfectly clear that was the reason why they targeted Panthera first.

Ladybug and Panthera had walked toward a fountain, listening to the demon dogs circling around them. They knew to prepare for an ambush, so they stuck back-to-back, as always, preparing for the takedown. Ladybug had a borrowed a spray-can from a local tagger before they told her to hide somewhere safe. The tagger was more than happy to help out the superhero team. Ladybug then set up a makeshift barricade with newspapers and cardboard boxes. Just stuff that were easily flammable and easily discarded.

The dogs came, leaping at them. That was expected. What was unexpected was that they were no longer dogs after they leapt. They screamed in midair and exploded into pools of tar, neither Panthera nor Ladybug's weapons having touched them. "This… isn't—" Panthera started.

A giant beast made from the parts of all the other tar dogs they took down before leapt in from the banks of the Seine, originally hidden from their view. It rushed them and they dove in different directions. That was the mistake. The tar from the three dogs had congealed again, then moved its mass closer to Panthera without him noticing and he stepped in it.

The beast leapt again, this time at Panthera, and he swung his hammer with black crackles of lightning to bat it away. But his feet were caught, gummed up, and all he managed to do was toss the hammer from his grip and yelled out in surprise, his legs suddenly inflexible and immobile as the black tar solidified on him.

Ladybug screamed as she watched him get eaten by the beast. It closed its maw around Panthera's torso and then swallowed whole. Then it ran away. "NO! NOOOOO!" She called out "Lucky Charm!", dropping everything she had prepared to set fire to the place, then flew to catch up with the beast. It ignored her. She flew past and cut at its back, cut its sides, cut its eyes, but nothing stopped it. Eventually she landed on top of its head and tried to pierce it through with her swords. It tried shaking her off, clearly unaffected by mere swords. She tried lightning, she tried ice, she tried cutting off its head, but nothing was working.

She had one last stupid, incredibly dangerous idea.

* * *

Panthera was pretty sure he was toast. He was unable to breathe, the black tar filling his mouth and nostrils and eyes and everywhere. He still had several seconds of consciousness left so he thought about calling his hammer back and felt it coalesce in his hand. He needed to react, but he was fighting his own fleeting concentration, the lizard brain desperate to find a gap or break free from the tar to take in that ever precious breath of air. He was flailing, grabbing at what he could and pulling, pushing, tearing, doing whatever he could to clear his face.

There was something he felt, a sense of _right_ in the viscous miasma of _wrong_ he was trapped in. It was so close to his fingers, so close, he had to reach out further, had to reach out quick before it was taken from him. It was at the periphery of his consciousness, the power he needed. The _word_. The last thing he thought before being unable to think at all was how sad he was he couldn't say goodbye to Juleka.

"There's a good kitty," a dark, oily, masculine voice said. "Let's find your darkest memory now, shall we?"

* * *

Ladybug charged at full speed. She let her swords disappear away, but she held out her hands in front of her. She had pulled ahead of the oil beast, zooming forward as fast as her wings could take her, then made a 180 and shot herself at the beast before it could dodge. She plunged into its mouth, realizing after the fact that she should probably have thought about if the impact would just smoosh her into a pancake. Ultimately, she didn't care. She was going to get Luka back. She wouldn't even die trying, she _was going to get him back_.

* * *

"I hate you! I _HATE_ you!! _I HATE YOU LUKA_!" His sister screamed at him, voice high and shrill and piercing. She had scratched at his face with her nails and drew blood.

 _Huh, that one?_ Luka thought. Then he got slammed into.


	9. To prove it

How long could the human body last without air? 3 minutes? Oh god, how long had it been?

Ladybug clawed at Panthera's face to peel off whatever she could of the black tar, liquifying and solidifying and freezing the blackness she could will her fingers to do and… they did, somehow, do exactly what she wanted. She slammed at his chest, at his stomach, with her balled fists to make him spit out, cough out whatever he took in that she couldn't peel away. It was a few panicked eternities of terror, of sheer abject terror that she couldn't save him, that she wasn't going to see his bright blue eyes, his lopsided smile, hear his laugh, hear his voice roll over her in that rich baritone she wanted to turn into a cloak to drape around herself, feel his hands on hers, feel his skin, feel his heartbeat ever again. "Luka, Luka, Luka," Ladybug whispered in a chant, crying. "Come back, come back."

She got most of it off. Most of it was gone. Could he breathe yet? Could he? Her tears kept coming as she was willing him to take in a breath. She felt something buzzing in her mind. Something that was like a warm presence floating in the base of her skull. She had to say something. The word? The _word_. Something. What word… what was it? Something about… making it hers. Making him hers. Claiming? Claiming what? Him? Not just him. More. She needed more... She needed to give…

It came to her. It was instinct, a single moment where she could reach beyond herself and bring…

_Salvation_

She kissed him. She breathed into him. She gave him… herself? Something of herself? Something more than herself? She needed him. She needed him back. So she would bring him back. "You belong with me, Luka Couffaine." She needed a declaration. That was enough.

She felt him push back against her and she jumped back, her heart racing. He gasped, turning over to his side, and coughed and retched but gasped again a deep, ragged, rasping intake of air. He kept coughing for a few minutes, inhaling short breaths and getting lightheaded, but he was breathing. His skin was covered in sweat and traces of tar and black mucus and he generally felt like shit, but he was able to roll onto his hands and knees of his own volition and he was _alive_. Wait… did he die?

Then he passed out again.

* * *

He felt a cool, damp cloth on his forehead and he reached out to touch it by reflex. "Luka?" He heard a familiar voice. Marinette? Oh shit, was she alright? He sat up and felt arms reach around his shoulders pull him into a hug.

"What happened?" He asked. His voice was raspy. He noticed that he was back in Fu's tea room.

"You got eaten by the big tar dog," Marinette said over his shoulder. "I… got you out. I think all of them disappeared after that. I had to make sure you had to be okay first," she said nervously.

"They're still out there?" He asked worriedly.

"Master Fu said he couldn't find any trace of them and nothing's been reported on the news," Marinette answered. "I don't know what they wanted. It wasn't like anything before."

"Are you okay?" He asked, his head aching. He still gripped the cloth in his hands and used it to wipe his face and ease the pressure on his eyes. "I'm sorry I left you in the open like that," he sighed.

Marinette scoffed, pulling back from the hug. "Are you fucking kidding me, Luka? You got eaten. What could you have done?"

"Not been an idiot, for one," he said. "We knew it was a trap and I fell right in."

Marinette put her hands on his face, cupping it. "We both fell for it."

He blinked, looking up at her. He flushed when she rested her forehead against his. "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked, not sure what to make of the intimate gesture.

"What do you remember, Panthera?" Master Fu said from behind the couch Luka had been laying in. Marinette pulled back and stood up, then walked over to get Luka a cup of water. Luka ran his hand through his hair, realizing he was still transformed when he felt the ears. He dropped the transformation and Plagg popped out.

"Finally, ya big lug," Plagg groaned, floating to the fridge.

"We were tracking those dog things that had attacked at the Trocadero. We had gotten most of them and then there were 3 left?" Luka answered Fu. "They got the drop on us with the big one. They were trying to suffocate me. I guess they did."

"It must have been the Peacock," Fu mused. "No Butterfly this time."

"What does the Peacock do?" Marinette asked, handing a cup to Luka.

"The Peacock is the Kwami of Memories," Fu started. "I… do not know what it does when corrupted, but its purpose was to record and to remember the past."

"Fuck," Luka groaned. "I think it - he - was… talking to me. I just… remember there was screaming."

"Were you able to make out what was said?" Master Fu asked.

"I think he was going for my worst memory," Luka sighed, then drank the entire cup in one go.

"I… see," Fu said.

"What happens now?" Marinette asked. "Does… this mean the Peacock knows who Luka is?"

"I… do not know," Fu sighed. "This… may very well pose a danger to those who were… involved in that memory."

Luka paled. "I need to go home," he said, panicking. He rolled off of the couch, putting the cup down on the floor, and faced Fu. "Please, send me home. Now." Plagg sighed, but swallowed all of the cheese he pulled out and went into Luka's pocket.

"One moment." Fu called out to Kaalki and transformed, slashing at the air in front of Luka with the kris dagger.

* * *

Luka blinked and he was back in his apartment. He walked out his door and stalled. He pulled out his phone and texted Juleka.

Home?

ya

Coming over

k

He entered his sister's apartment. She and Rose were laying back in their couch, watching the news. It was covering Ladybug's rescue of… him. A stitched-together video covering multiple angles showed her diving into the beast and pulling out Panthera. Then the visuals went back to the newscaster. Oh, shit, he forgot to thank Marinette for _saving his life_. Christ. He'd… wow, it didn't feel right to send a text for that. He'd call her later.

"Luka?" Rose asked. "Are you okay?" Rose and Juleka were now looking at him.

"You… kinda look like shit," his sister said, cocking her head to the side, concerned.

"Kinda _am_ shit," he replied. "Bad… day."

Juleka smiled gently. "Alright then, boyo. Wanna watch something?"

"Nah. Just… wanted to be nearby," he sighed. He sat down at the other end of the couch, staring up at the ceiling. Was he putting his sister and Rose in danger? God, how could he be so stupid? He fidgeted with the ring on his index finger.

"Luka?" Juleka touched his shoulder after leaning in closer. "Yo, you're not okay."

"Nope," he answered.

"What's up?"

He looked over at his sister and her girlfriend. "I'm…" _I'm Panthera and I think I'm in trouble and I think they're coming after you. I'll give you all the money I have, but for fuck's sake leave Paris right NOW_. "I was thinking about mom," he said. "About when… she died."

Juleka closed her eyes and took in a breath, placing her hands in her lap. Rose smiled sadly at Luka, kissed Juleka's cheek, and left for their bedroom. "Okay," his sister said, opening her eyes.

"You and Rose… you should probably… leave Paris. It's getting fucked up here. I… don't want you to get hurt."

"We have superheroes here," Juleka said, raising an eyebrow. "They seem to be taking care of us."

"What if they can't?" He asked, an edge of desperation in his voice. "Look, Jules, I don't know if I can handle it anymore. I need to know you'll be safe. That I won't be putting you in danger."

Juleka looked stunned. "Why would you be putting me in danger?"

"Is Milan good? You guys can speak Italian, right? You traveled there often. Maybe there?"

"Luka, can… can you tell me why you think you're putting me in danger?"

"Hell, just go to New York. Across the Atlantic. Out of Europe."

She put her hands around him and pulled him in for a hug. "Luka, what's going on?" She asked, pulling back but leaving an arm across his shoulders.

"That," he said, pointing at the TV news broadcast. "Is scaring the shit out of me. And I don't see it letting up. What happens if something targets… me? You? Rose?"

"Ladybug and Panthera fix it," Juleka said. "They've saved everyone."

"What happens if they can't?"

"I… don't know."

"Exactly. You gotta get out of here, Jules. Be safe. Go somewhere that's not here."

"Are you going to come with us?" Juleka asked. "I'm not fucking leaving you here if you want me to go!"

"I… can't."

She unhooked her arm from across his shoulders and stood up to glare at him. "And why the fuck not?"

"It's complicated." Juleka started saying something but Luka cut her off. "I know everything is complicated. It's not something I'm able to explain. I really wish I could tell you, Jules, honestly."

"Nothing," Juleka growled, shoving a finger into his arm. "You fucking promised! ' _Nothing secret between us!_ '"

Luka sighed. "I… can't tell you everything. Even if it means breaking the promise."

"You asshole," Juleka said sharply, punching his arm. "You better have a fucking good reason."

"You know I do," he said to his sister, rubbing his arm. "Don't punch people, Jules."

"Shut the fuck up," she growled, plopping back down on the couch after folding her arms. "Why do you have to be so goddamn frustrating? What the hell is up with you? You freak me out talking about mom and danger and telling me to get out of the country. What the hell?"

"Sorry."

"No, no, no! You don't close up on me! Luka! Tell me!"

He looked up at the TV, then back down to the floor. He inclined his head to the TV.

Juleka looked up and saw various photos of Panthera and Ladybug. She looked back at Luka and shook her head. "You're not."

"Right."

Juleka blinked. "You… you're not!" He said nothing. "Oh fuck. You can't be." Juleka stared at her brother, then slowly brought her hands to her mouth. "Oh my god." She got up and started pacing. "Oh my god, Luka. That's why you kept disappearing."

"Forget it," he said. "Nevermind. I'm going back." He made to get up but Juleka shoved him back down.

"Fuck that," Juleka said. "You wouldn't make this shit up."

"I would totally make this shit up. I was just kidding. I'm going. Don't shove me."

"Luka. You… are in danger, aren't you?"

He sat still for a moment. "Will you leave if I am?"

Juleka covered her face with her hands. "I… have to think about this," she said quietly.

"No time."

"I can't just drop everything and leave! What… what happened?" Juleka said in a harsh whisper. "You… gotta give me something, Luka."

He sighed. "What if… it's something like reliving the worst memory you've ever had?" Luka asked his sister. "That causes you to… become whatever."

"Is that why you were thinking about mom?" Juleka's eyes were wide open.

He nodded. "It's why I want you to be safe." He got up and placed his hands on his sister's shoulders. "Jules. I have to keep you safe. Don't… let anyone else know. Not even Rose."

All this time Juleka thought anyone would be thrilled to find out their sibling was a goddamn superhero. But… it was actually horrifying. All the things he put himself through, all the things that fought him and tore at him and… devoured him like today… All the things his partner couldn't save him from. Her _brother_ was going through that. She gasped again. " _Marinette?_ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm able to write this easier than the other fic, so... here you go...
> 
> I always figured it was going to be hard to hide secret identities from close siblings, especially given the circumstances here.


	10. What you waiting for?

"Marinette," Tikki called out from a plate of cookies. "You should tell Master Fu your perspective!"

Marinette had just stood there, staring at the empty space where Luka had been, the haunted look on his face preventing her from offering to go with him for… emotional support? Fighting backup? Just to be near. Just to be with him, really. But he didn't need her.

"Marinette?" Tikki repeated. "Are… you alright?" Her kwami asked gently, flying closer to put her tiny limb against Marinette's cheek.

"Yeah," Marinette sighed. "I'm gathering my thoughts."

"Tikki, what do you remember?" Master Fu asked, attempting to give Marinette some time. "What were you able to sense of the battle?"

Tikki floated back to her cookies. "It was definitely the Peacock! I wasn't able to eat any feathers though!"

"Feathers?" Marinette asked.

"Corrupted Miraculous powers leave behind a signature, you might say," Wang Fu explained. "Hawkmoth's ability leaves behind the butterflies you rend when you destroy the item of possession. The Peacock leaves feathers as its remnants of corruption."

Marinette started panicking. "Oh fuck… I didn't see any. I… What happens now if we didn't get the feathers?"

"The Peacock is less… active and showy than the Butterfly. But I do not know the dangers as the Peacock is quite clever and uses the chaos of the Butterfly to hide its effects. Do not blame yourself, Marinette. Saving your partner was the right decision."

"Marinette, what happened after you were able to save Luka from the Peacock?"

Fu looked up at the kwami. "That is a strange question, Tikki. What do you remember?"

"That's… that's the part I'm concerned about Master Fu! I can't remember! I don't know what happened! I know that Marinette was very upset when Luka was eaten, and I know that she got him away from danger, but… after that I can't tell. Not until we got back here."

"That is… very strange." Master Fu looked to Marinette. "I have not yet heard of an uncorrupted kwami that was… unaware of what happened during their activated states."

Marinette shrugged. "I didn't really do anything special. I was just trying to make sure Luka was able to breathe."

"What did you do?" Tikki asked.

"It was all… sticky tar, I peeled it off. He wasn't breathing so I thought I'd… help him?" Marinette blushed. "I was just… trying to push some air into his lungs."

"Is that all?" Tikki asked.

"Th-there was a… something. There was something that I felt I needed to… say?" Marinette said uneasily. "It was kind of intense, but I was pretty stressed out so maybe it was more that than anything related to the Miraculous. Right?"

Tikki and Fu looked at each other. "What did you say?" Tikki asked gently.

"I said th-that L-Luka belonged… w-with me?" Marinette stumbled on her words, blushing furiously. "I don't know why I said it, I was kinda going crazy then so maybe it doesn't mean anything!"

Tikki bobbed her little head to the side. "Those words are… magical! That feels like a declaration! That's part of a spell!"

"What spell would that be, Tikki?" Fu asked.

"I'm… not sure. I don't remember. Marinette, do you remember if there was anything else? I _think_ … you might have cast a spell! But there are catalysts to spells. A word that triggers it."

Marinette raised a hand to her burning cheeks. "I… c-cast a spell? On Luka?!"

Tikki giggled. "Spells aren't like the ones witches use to curse people in the fairy tale books, Marinette. Not for us _Miraculous_ anyway!"

"Lucky Charm is a spell. Cataclysm is a spell. Or rather, they are the words for conjuring your weapons," Fu said.

"I… was just thinking that I… needed to save Luka," Marinette blurted. "The… the-the-the words thing, is it really important?"

"Words are important, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. The power lies in their meaning and intent and the understanding and how they are used. Spells are commands that the universe obeys, and the power lies in the words themselves." Fu explained gently.

"Oh fuck, I… I didn't mean to—" Marinette covered her mouth. "W-what does it mean? Does it mean I… what does it mean?! What did I do to Luka?!"

"You… saved your partner by claiming him from the Peacock," Fu continued, mildly amused. "Your intent was… good. He… belongs with you now." Fu stated that as if it had become a universal truth with a hidden smile.

"It doesn't sound like anything's wrong then!" Tikki beamed.

"Oh fuck, oh fuck, I need to tell him—" Marinette panicked. "How do I undo this?! How can I take it back?"

"Why do you want to take it back?" Tikki asked, surprised.

"You can't just _claim_ people! Ugh," Marinette put her hands on her head. "It's wrong, wrong, wrong." She pulled out her phone when Juleka was calling at that same moment and she accidentally picked up. "Oh… Hi?"

She could hear Juleka talking over Luka. "Marinette! Come to my place! Like, right now!"

"Wh-what's going on?"

"You—" Juleka got cut off.

"Sorry, Marinette, just ignore this. Bye." That was Luka, who sounded pretty upset.

_Oh… okay_ , Marinette thought. Her phone rang again, but this time it was from Luka's phone? "Hi?"

"Ha, you take my phone I take YOURS, asshole!" Juleka. "Marinette, look, please come over? Please? Oh shit," Juleka said suddenly, then it was Juleka laughing and running, then Marinette heard a giggling "Rose! Don't let him in! Marinette! Sorry. I know this is pretty fuckin' weird but I really really need to talk with you in person here please come right now," then the call ended.

Sorry again  
Don't listen to her

Her phone pinged with Juleka's face on the messages sent, but that looked more like Luka's writing style than Juleka's.

"I… think I have to go?" Marinette said to Fu.

* * *

She knocked on Juleka and Rose's apartment door. It opened for her and Rose directed Marinette to Luka's apartment instead with a bemused smile. Marinette almost knocked on the door to Luka's apartment when Juleka greeted her. "Hi? What's going on?" Marinette asked.

Juleka motioned for her to come inside and closed the door behind the small woman. "Just so we can get this over with, you're Ladybug and he's Panthera and I know and I want to make sure that you know I know," the model said.

"Oh. Alright then." Marinette sank to the floor and flopped onto her side.

"God, you two are so alike," Juleka sighed. "So extra."

"What… happened?" Marinette asked from the floor.

"You tell me! Then again it looked like my brother almost died and he flipped out and told me I needed to leave the country, then I figured out he was Panthera and I guessed you're Ladybug so we're _all_ a little tense now."

"S-sorry."

"Marinette, you saved his life. You both are saving all our lives. You're now going to have to tell me how the fuck you two got involved and what's happening and how I can help you both."

"Huh? Help us?" Marinette pushed herself up into a sitting position.

"I'm not saying I'm a superhero or anything, but Jesus you two need people watching your back, don't you?" Juleka sighed. "I'm… also not saying he's… the type to go all self-sacrificial so you need to save him from himself, but I sure as fuck mean to HINT that."

Marinette looked around. "Where _is_ Luka?"

"Panicking on the roof. He'll come down when he's ready." Juleka sat down next to Marinette. "I… just want to help," Juleka sighed. "He's the only family I have left. I was… pretty fucked up after mom died. He was the one to get me working through everything and now… it's my turn to help him."

Marinette frowned. "That's… nice, Juleka, but—"

"Are you legit trying to brush me off?" Juleka asked angrily. "I know I'm not a superhero! I don't want to be either. But you… you guys are going it alone and that's kind of bullshit. Just… just tell me how it started, at least. Please?"

"Actually, I was gonna ask if you thought we should have given up our powers or something, but it sounds like you're on board?" Marinette frowned again. "Luka didn't tell you?"

"Oh, I wholly endorse the idea of superheroes, even if my brother is one of them. Also he honestly almost had an aneurism when I called you, so he's not talking to me for now," Juleka grinned. "But you're here."

* * *

Luka was never going to feel ready to come down. He was pacing back and forth on the apartment roof, simultaneously angry at and proud of his little sister for taking decisive action. But… it definitely wasn't helpful to _him_ right now. Oh god Jules had called Marinette and she was probably here and she was probably going to hate him forever. The one woman in his life he wanted so badly that he'd be willing to drag himself through broken glass and hell and brimstone on his hands and knees (and occasionally _did_ in his indestructible suit) was going to hate him forever.

At least he was alone up here. Might as well start getting used to being alone again. Actually he was already pretty good at that.

Until he got tapped on the elbow. He spun around and took a defensive stance. "Oh, fuck me," he whined quietly, when it turned out to be Marinette.

"I… um…" Marinette turned redder than he'd ever seen her. She had heard him.

"Shit, I mean, I'm sorry." He placed his hand over his eyes, turning red himself.

"Well, well, long time no see, sugarcube!" Plagg said, popping into view.

"W-what?" Marinette asked, shocked. Both she and Luka looked at Plagg.

"Ugh, I know you're just teasing me when you call me that!" Tikki said, popping into view herself. "How would you feel if I called you a stinky sock?"

"You should! That'd be delightful!" The cat kwami snickered. "Anyway _sugarcube_ , I think it's time we left these two knuckleheads alone for a bit."

"Wait, what?" Luka asked.

"You might actually be right for once, you _foul-smelling gremlin_ ," Tikki sighed.

"Hey, I resent that," Plagg laughed. "I'm always right!" Then the two kwami phased through the floor and disappeared from view.

"Did we just get abandoned by our kwami?" Luka asked.

"I think so?" Marinette hazarded a guess. "I… fucking hope nothing with Hawkmoth happens right about now."

"Agreed," Luka sighed.

A few rapid heartbeats of silence passed.

"I'm sor—" The both of them said.

"You can—" They said over one another. They both stopped talking.

"Wait, why are you apologizing?" Luka asked, finally. "I'm the one that fucked up."

"W-well… I… Er. Um. Soooo I may have…" Marinette started, but then exhaled loudly in defeat. "I'm apologizing because I put a spell on you!"

Luka just nodded to himself, thinking _you sure did_ , but then realized that she probably didn't mean it the same way he was thinking. "What do you mean?"

Marinette started pacing. "So when I pulled you from the beast thing you weren't… breathing? And while I was trying to get you to breathe I also had something in the back of my mind telling me to say something about claiming… you… so I kind of did? Tikki and Fu said it might have been part of a spell I cast but I didn't know I was doing it. Anyway I was really kind of stressed out then but it seems to have worked and Tikki and Fu think I probably did the right thing but I still kinda feel like I should tell you I could probably take that back whenever you want me to! I don't like the idea that I did that without your permission by the way so um let me know that it wasn't okay and I'll take it back and I'm just rambling. Oh god."

"Claim me?" He repeated, just to clarify.

She started flailing her arms. "J-just temporarily! I'll need to talk with Tikki about like, undoing that! But Master Fu said that I was able to save you from the Peacock because of it so I'm so sorry fuuuck," she groaned, covering her face with her hands.

"But you brought me back from either the brink of death or falling to the Peacock." He stated. "And… are you asking if you have my permission to let you claim me?"

"I can undo it!" She said quickly, feeling weak at the knees.

"Don't. You have my permission."


	11. Take a chance

"I'm sorry, what?" Marinette asked, blinking rapidly.

Luka's life flashed before his eyes. What the fuck did he just say? "You saved my life so don't worry about it," he said, rather smoothly if he could say so himself. "I need to apologize for earlier. Juleka figured out I was involved as Panthera, and one thing lead to another. I'm at fault here for not stopping this whole thing sooner. It's completely my fuckup and I'm sorry."

"A-ah." Marinette said simply. She just blinked a few times more, then turned to her side and looked over the view from the top of his apartment building. It wasn't too tall, just a couple of stories high, but she could see the tops of all the other nearby buildings and vaguely remembered seeing rooftops like these as she flew over the city time and time again. They all blurred together for her, but maybe she should remember this particular lay of the land here.

This was where her partner lived, after all.

"You didn't need to apologize. I don't have a sibling, so I can't imagine what it'd be like, but… I don't think it's a problem that Juleka knows since your sister loves you and wants to watch out for you. I mean, that sounds pretty nice, actually," Marinette said after a while. She leaned against the railing overlooking the narrow street below. "You guys are so close, it must be great to not be alone all the time."

 _Alone… all the time?_ Luka wondered. "It's not bad," he said slowly. "It's the way we decided things needed to be, Jules and I." He was treading carefully with his words. All of a sudden Marinette sounded way more fragile than before. "If you ever want company, you're welcome to come visit us at any time. We're… introverts, so we're at home when we're not at work or playing at the bar."

Marinette had a small smile, still looking over the dark alleyway below. "I appreciate the offer." There were a few more heartbeats of silence and Luka had opened his mouth to say something, but he didn't know what. Marinette spoke instead. "I think I should tell you more details of what happened during that… spell thing."

"You… don't have to tell me if you prefer not to."

"Why do you always give me an out?" She laughed. Sort of? Was that a laugh? He mouthed a few starts at an explanation, but ended up unable to speak. "Oh. It's… I know you're being kind," Marinette sighed. "I'm... A-anyway. I should explain because… I should!" She gave him what was hopefully a more cheerful smile. "I know I covered the basics more or less, but… Master Fu told me that the words I used were important because of… how I meant it. The way I said it. I said 'you belong with me,' but what I meant was 'I can't lose you.' I'm not very good at letting go," she sighed, slowly sitting back on her heels after kneeling on the floor. Her hands were still gripping the bars of the railing and it looked like she was trying to hide her face behind her extended arms.

Luka had no idea what to do. He felt concerned, but… there was also a level of anxious hope that maybe she was going to say what he wanted to hear.

"But what I _wanted_ to say," she said quietly, pulling herself back up. "Was 'you're mine', because I wanted that to be true," she said, turning to face him as he felt intense heat all over. "Because I'm in love with you, Luka, so don't give me an out because I might just run away."

She yelped as he picked her up by her hips, raising her up and seating her in his arms and bracing her against him. She put her arms around his head and shoulders in surprise, pressing his mouth into the V of her neck. "How about this, then?" He asked against her, and she let out a small _ahh_ as she got tickled by the sensation. He felt her body-wide pulse quicken against his cheek.

"I-I guess I can't run now?" She squeaked, half surprised.

"Hey Marinette, you should know I've been in love with you since the day we met."

She laughed, for real this time. "Hey Luka, it's the same for me," she said, pressing her hands against his shoulders and pulling back slightly to be able to look at his face. Even in the dim light of the evening he still looked pretty flushed. She imagined she wasn't much better. "Since the beginning," she murmured, sinking into him and pressing her lips against his.

* * *

There was a handwritten note by Juleka taped to Luka's door.

> _DO NOT FUCK IT UP WITH M_

The "not" was underlined three times. Luka sighed and pulled it off, turning the paper over as he noticed whatever marker she used had bled through the front.

> _also why the fuck do you keep taking my cheese??? weirdo_

He apparently needed a talk with Plagg.

"Is… it going to be weird that your sister's next door?" Marinette asked shyly. Luka gave her a questioning look. "I-I mean, would… she be able to hear us?" Marinette whispered, pointedly looking at the floor.

"Only if you—" _Scream._ Oh, wow. "Oh."

* * *

His first alarm went off at 06:00 and he shut it off. He heard mild grumbling from in front of him, then suddenly he was very awake. Or parts of him were. Most of him was. Some parts more than others. His right arm felt dead as Marinette had slept on it. The pillows had been pushed off. Most everything had been pushed off. He looked down as his eyes adjusted to the way-too-early morning light and found a mess of blue-black hair and a lightly freckled cream-colored shoulder. Marinette hummed in annoyance, still asleep, and pressed herself into him.

That set off a chain reaction and he forgot about his dead arm for a while. Marinette woke when Luka hugged her tighter against him, a pleasant heat trapped between them. She had a small laugh as he kissed up her neck after brushing her hair back. “Mmm, good morning, Luka,” she sighed contentedly, making slight adjustments with the help of her small fingers to angle that grand heat into position while he fumbled around to find a condom nearby.

It was one of the best mornings.

* * *

Marinette had gone into work a few hours later with a giddiness she tried to hide from the rest of her coworkers. She also tried to hide the slight wince she had when she pulled into her chair, but the sensitivity and soreness she felt just reminded her of the previous night's escapade(s) and that morning and the shower and she flushed. Her coworkers eyed her suspiciously and whispered "Are you alright, dear?" and she told them she had just exercised a little harder than usual and launched straight into business, asking about the color and material swatches she had wanted and their cost breakdowns.

She pulled out a few blank pages for sketching and started putting some ideas down on paper. She kept sketching and her coworkers hovered around, oohs and ahhs as she talked about certain qualities. A lot of inspiration came from Ladybug and Panthera, of course, but she wouldn't tell anyone she had personal experience to draw from. She kept sketching a few loosely related details about the black-cat hero, focusing on leather and gunmetal, straps and buckles, zippers and sharp lines, hammers and lightning, getting lost in her thoughts.

A certain male voice broke her out of her reverie. "Those are some awesome designs, Marinette." She jumped back slightly, startled. Marinette turned around and saw a green pair of eyes and finely coiffed blond hair scanning over her quick sketches. "These are based on Panthera, right? Gotta say, though, I'm personally a bigger fan of Ladybug."

"A-Adrien? I mean, hello Mr Agreste!"

He beamed at her. "Adrien is fine! Don't mind me, I'm just dropping by to check things out. Lovely work you have," he commented, gingerly feeling the fabric of a piece Marinette had up on a nearby mannequin. "I can see why my father speaks highly of you."

"H-he does?!" Marinette blushed.

"Yes, actually. I wanted to stop by and ask how you're doing?"

"Me? Like, me specifically?"

Adrien just smiled. "Well, why not? The Gabriel brand hates to let any kind of talent slip through its fingers, and you're one of the best," he said. "So I say let's keep them happy. Would you like to get coffee sometime?"

"Um?" Marinette's thoughts were in a whirlwind. How… should she respond? To the one and only Top Model and son of Gabriel Agreste, King of Fashion in the Western Hemisphere? She'd be an idiot to refuse. "Wow, s-sure!"

"Great!" He said. "How about next Tuesday?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you think I forgot about Adrien? _Ahahaha_


	12. People couldn't believe

"Um, sorry, I-I meet up with my—" Did they even have a label? Well, she didn't think Luka would object to being called her boyfriend at this time. Hopefully. They hadn't really talked much last night or this morning, having other uses for their mouths. "With my boyfriend on Tuesdays! At least for lunch? Did you mean lunch?" Marinette asked worriedly.

"How wonderful, he can join us if you'd like! Though it would probably be boring for him unless he's also in the industry." Adrien laughed. "Don't worry, Marinette, I just wanted to have a chat with you outside of the firm to see how you're doing and if Gabriel is doing everything it can to keep you happy."

"Oh, I'm fine," Marinette laughed worriedly.

Adrien leaned in a bit closer and whispered. "I know it might seem a bit overwhelming to have _me_ here asking. We really do value your work here, and I personally wanted to get to know you a little better. I might be wearing your designs, after all," he winked. He left shortly after accepting her suggestion of Tuesday lunch at the café she frequented, leaving behind a stunned Marinette and her coworkers.

"Wha-what happened?" She asked no one in particular.

"Oh Marinette, how exciting!" Her coworkers were more thrilled than she was. She just pulled out her phone and started to text.

luka are we dating? i'm calling you my boyfriend but we didn't officially say

I'm hoping we are  
So yes. Please  
I'm absolutely okay with that

Marinette giggled to herself, blushing a bright pink and internally squealing. Her coworkers assumed her giddiness was because of Adrien and playfully nudged her to ask if that was the case. Marinette sputtered back in shock. "O-oh! No, no, I was just texting the b-boyfriend and he made me happy." Fuck, that… Adrien thing was happening. Luka should know.

a coworker of mine asked me out to coffee  
to join us Tuesday lunch same place?  
halp. come save me from myself  
btw it's Adrien Agreste the coworker

* * *

_Adrien Agreste?_ Luka had heard of the name before. Had Juleka worked with him too? A quick search online pulled up a ton of photos. Oh fuck, this dude… Oh shit he was a fucking supermodel.

Adrien asked you out to coffee?

yeah he wants to know more about me?  
for work!!!

Okay, Luka could deal with it having to do with Marinette's work stuff. Maybe. Maybe not when it might or might not impact his brand new relationship with the woman his heart, mind, body, and soul decided _this is the one_. And she was going to have coffee outside of work with a _male supermodel?_ How was he going to compete with that shit? A guitar solo? Jesus fucking Christ on a bicycle.

I'll be there

Thanks!!! ❤️

Can I see you tonight?

Ugh, did that sound insecure? Jealous? He would have asked even if Adrien wasn't involved so hopefully not. Did she know that? Well, he'd talk with her about everything. Hopefully. Hopefully she'd accept Luka for what he was. Which was _not_ a male supermodel. He had a fashion model _sister_ though? He needed to ask Juleka about this Adrien. Fuck, how long had it been since Marinette last replied? Could she smell the desperation?

Let's do dinner at my place!!!

She texted him her address and said she'd be making something so let her know what he'd like. Well, that was nice. She didn't seem turned off by any of that so maybe he didn't need to worry. But he did anyway. What was his nicest shirt, where was it buried? God why did he decide that he'd leave fashion to his sister and look and live like a busker? Why was the woman of his dreams a _fashion designer?_ Goddamn it Couffaine.

I'm good with whatever

That response was boring and unhelpful.

But if you want inspiration I'm a fan of Thai

Better?

oooo nice!  
good taste ❤️  
see you tonight!!!

Score 1 for the man with a guitar. He texted Juleka asking if she was free for a bit and asked about Adrien when he got an affirmative.

obvs model  
hes drama llama  
serial ladykiller lmao  
y

Oh shit. Might as well just call. "Hey Jules, Marinette said Adrien wanted to see her for coffee over work."

"Oh, fuck." _Oh fuck._ "It… could just be about work, I dunno him that well."

"What… _do_ you know?"

"He's like dated other models and some fans and the mayor's daughter and… I think there kinda was a scandal or something a few years ago where he took a Japanese princess to a hotel for a night?"

"What?"

"Iunno."

"Fuck."

"Are you and Marinette…" Juleka trailed off. "I mean, you two being like… _occupational hazards_ and all."

"I… was hoping."

"Ohh. Shit."

"Yeah."

"Well, talk with her, you dumbass! Jeez."

"Seeing her tonight."

"Oh! Good. Well, good."

"How do I not fuck this up, Jules?"

Juleka snorted. "Don't be a jerk. Don't be stupid. Don't be a fuckboy."

Luka sighed. "Great advice."

"You're welcome, asshole. Hey," Juleka paused. "Marinette loves you. I know she does. Just… be your dumbass chill self and she'll be happy."

"I don't know if it's enough," Luka sighed. "I think this is it, Jules. She's… what I want."

"Then tell her that and work it out with her, dummy!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll try." He took a second to breathe. "How's it going with you getting the fuck out of France?"

"I'm asking the agencies to look into it."

Luka let out a huge exhale in pure relief. "Thanks, Jules. Best news."

"You owe me yours and Marinette's firstborn. Anyway, bye Luka. Love you."

"Love you too, Jules."

* * *

Luka's daily wear usually involved whatever was clean and available. He had a monochromatic lifestyle, really. Navy or shades of blue or gray. Or black and white. If he wasn't dressed "like trash" as one of his exes had said as a parting shot, he'd just be wearing black and that was what he wore to Marinette's apartment. Juleka had taken one look at his outfit and rolled her eyes, but she didn't give him any shit as it was the best he could do at the time.

He half-wondered if he should have gotten flowers, but instead he brought some Belgian ales so he'd at least be able to drink himself into a stupor with something pleasant if he fucked things up as he was actually kind of a lightweight. His hand kept hovering over the knocker of her apartment door. He… really did want to see her but her mention of Adrien brought up a bunch of unresolved insecurities Luka had. Chiefly that he'd usually been the one who lacked _something_ and his ex-girlfriends had been the ones who dumped him if it hadn't been a mutual breakup.

But now… he was theoretically wiser. So he'd just tell Marinette about how he had nothing else to offer but himself from the get-go. If it wasn't going to work, might as well have it fail as early as possible so he could know for sure where he stood.

He needed to prep himself for heartache. He did not like his odds against… whatever Adrien wanted with Marinette. He finally knocked on her door and she opened it after a few seconds. "Hi!" Marinette smiled brightly, pulling him down into a kiss before he had a chance to reply. "Oh nice, you brought beer! I had no clue what kind of drinks would work with Pad Thai, so I'm glad you brought some!" She took the glass bottle carrier and hurriedly set it on her table. "Welcome to my shoebox! I'm still finishing up something so um, sit back and relax?" She shrugged nervously and dipped back into her kitchen. She seemed… anxious, maybe more than he was. Luka wasn't sure if that was a good sign.

"Hi," he said belatedly. "I… can help," he followed up awkwardly.

She laughed. "It'd be nice but I barely fit in my kitchen by myself so thanks but no thanks!"

_Alright, Couffaine, do the math._ Bring it up now so neither of them would have to deal with the gut-wrenching stress after having eaten? So she wouldn't have to waste time with him? But not when she needed to focus. Let her say when she finished and then… then have the talk. To occupy himself he twisted the cap off of one of the glass bottles and drank half in one go, to get that liquid courage going. He sat down on a nearby chair with his legs apart, his elbows resting on his knees as he leaned forward to stare at the floor in contemplation.

He could hear a high-pitched melody coming from the kitchen. "Um, o-one more sec and it'll be ready!" There was some small clatter and Marinette cursed and then immediately let out a relieved sigh.

"Are… you alright?" Luka asked.

"YEP! No problems here!" It seemed like Marinette was frantic as she zoomed in and out of view setting up her dining room table. "Okay! It's ready!" Marinette smiled, slightly flushed.

"Before… that, I wanted to talk," he said slowly. "I should have stopped you earlier, before you set everything up. I didn't think about that. Sorry."

He'd never seen her drop a smile into a frown that fast. "O-oh. I… it's okay. What d-did you want to talk about?" She pulled up another chair and sat across from him, and he saw her pale and had a slight tremor in her hands. He took her hands in his.

"I'm pretty bad at relationships and I'm scared shitless I'm going to fuck up this one, so I wanted to ask how I can… avoid that? You're an amazing woman, Marinette. I have no idea what I can do for you, but… I'll try to do everything I can to make you happy."

She looked taken aback and flushed pink. "Wh-what?" She blinked at him. "You're—wait. Um." She bit her lower lip in a half smile and his heart started beating again. "You know what, Luka? I… kind of had the same train of thought about you. But I mean like, how do I keep _you_ happy? I'm pretty bad at relationships myself." She scooted herself closer to him by sitting at the edge of her seat. "I know it's… unique that we're both superheroes or whatever. No matter how it happened, I'm really glad you're the one I get to have as a partner. I feel lucky, actually." She rested her head against his shoulder. "I'm scared I'm going to mess this up too."

"Can I have whatever you're not eating?" Plagg asked over Luka's shoulder, startling both Luka and Marinette enough that they both jumped back. "I'm hungry."

"Plagg!" Tikki yelled at him. "They're having a _moment_ you slimy hairball!"

"I keep forgetting about them," Luka sighed, letting himself slouch back low in the chair.

"They're having a _stupid_ moment is what I sees," Plagg huffed. "Admit it, I'm right. They're so scared of messing things up that they'll never get anything done at all. Hey kids! It's fine to make mistakes! Just don't do them again!"

Tikki tackled Plagg midair and covered his mouth with her holding him in a kwami version of a chokehold. "I'm sorry Marinette! I'll take care of this one," the little pink kwami sighed over Plagg's protesting.

Marinette stifled a laugh. "Th-thanks Tikki." Tikki dragged Plagg into a hatbox.

"That was unexpected," Luka said plainly, slightly deflated. "Plagg… is right though." It did pain Luka to admit it. "Look, Marinette, I don't know anything about fashion and I know that Adrien's probably a—"

"Adrien?" Marinette interrupted. "Er—sorry. I-I don't… I don't care about fashion—I mean I don't care that you don't know anything about it even if you really do. And what about Adrien?"

"I… figured he was interested in you."

"Not really. But if he was?"

"He's a supermodel. For Gabriel. Gabriel's _son_."

"And?"

"I don't have a chance against him," Luka said nervously. "He's got the connections and the… industry at his beck and call. Right?"

Marinette bit her lip to hide another smile. " _He_ doesn't have a chance against _you_." She got up from her chair and sat down in his lap, straddling and facing him with her hands braced against his chest. "I said earlier I was glad to have you as my partner. I'm more than glad. I love you. But it's not enough just to say that, is it?"

Luka cleared his throat to draw attention away from his lower half, although his whole body was on fire. "I can only give you—" He grabbed her hips involuntarily as she rocked herself against him.

"Give me what?" She smiled, wicked and teasing. "This?" She ran a finger from his collarbone to just right (his left) of his sternum, above his heart.

"You already have it," he laughed. "I just don't have much else."

"I don't need anything else," Marinette said simply, leaning into him. "Are you hungry?" She said it in a way that suggested she wanted to have something else happening then.

"Not… right now."

"Me neither."

They didn't have dinner for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to start off 2020 with a Lukanette bang ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
> [Also me trying to get this done in time:](https://www.deviantart.com/nitrongmod/art/Overwhelming-598629418)  
> 


	13. What I'd become

They were both a sweaty mess.

Luka was enjoying that slightly glazed over expression Marinette had when she was catching her breath, trembling slightly with aftershocks. Her legs were still wrapped around him in more of a I-don’t-wanna-move kind of way rather than the you’re-not-going-anywhere insistence of earlier. She wove her fingers through his hair and pulled him down for a kiss, then another, then another, then more, switching between feather light presses to deeper lip-biting kisses that made him gasp and laugh against her in response. He moved his mouth over to just below her ear, nipping slightly. Marinette squealed and giggled.

This was it. This was _it_ for Luka, and he’d bring a reckoning on anything that would take this away from him with everything he had. His feelings were a mixture of possessiveness, awe, hope, devotion, fear, anxiety all bundled up into a knot in his stomach. Would he fail her? Was he enough? Was he _enough_? He unhooked her legs from behind him and readjusted them both so she laid on top.

She kissed him again gently, her hair falling around them, and with that she eventually reminded him that _she_ was the one that claimed him and did every time she touched him.

"Can I ask about this?" She asked quietly, tracing the tattoo at his left pectoral to the base of his neck, around his shoulder, following it down to his upper arm.

"What do you want to know?" He asked back with a lazy smile.

"Why a snake?" She traced the body of the snake back up to its head and rested her fingers against the forked tongue that hovered over his heart.

"That's what Juleka called me when our mom died. This is in commemoration."

Marinette scrunched up her face. "Why did she call you that?"

"Because I'm the one that ended our mother's life." Marinette froze, but didn't seem… frightened, just shocked. She simply waited for an explanation. Luka smiled sadly. "Mom was unresponsive for 10 weeks after a head injury. We still don't know what happened. It wasn't a good time for Jules, she had just started Uni and I… thought we shouldn't have to deal with it anymore. Jules took it hard and shut me down for about a year. I deserved it."

"I… I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have—I-I didn't mean to… well, I…" Marinette started, then trailed off.

"It's alright. It's not a secret. Just something we don't talk about until someone asks."

"It must have been so difficult…"

"I was… tired. I found out you can get tired of feeling anything at all. I… wanted to stop being that numb."

"Hey Luka," Marinette whispered after a few moments, laying her head back down on him. "Thanks for telling me."

"I don't want to hide anything from you, Marinette. How are you feeling?"

"Well, I… I think it puts things into perspective, actually. Seems like you'd do anything for Juleka."

"Probably."

Marinette smiled back at him. "Will you let me help?"

"What do you mean?" He looked back up at her, confused.

Marinette sat up on Luka. "I mean that so far only Juleka's asked me to help you. You don't really ever ask for help yourself," Marinette said.

"Ugh, what did she ask you to do?" Luka grimaced. "I'm fine."

"Ah, that classic masculine stoicism, should I be impressed?" Marinette said flatly, but smirked. "Try to not let that kill you, okay? I kinda like you."

"I'm… glad," he said slowly. "What'd Jules ask you to do?"

"Nothing much, really. Just take care of you," Marinette said softly, running her fingers through his hair. "I wanna do that. You don't have to do everything on your own, you know?" He took in a deep breath and exhaled. "You and me, against all kinds of monsters this world has. Alright?"

Luka smiled his lopsided smile back up at her. "Alright. I love you, Marinette." He pulled her to lay back down on him. "I don't know why this all happened the way it did, but I'm glad I'm part of it with you."

* * *

Tuesday rolled around and Marinette had sent a text to Luka saying she'd be walking over with Adrien. The supermodel was semi-casual to be semi-hidden from the public eye, but no one could deny his presence was felt no matter where he was and what he dressed like. He was almost a literal ray of sunshine with how the sun glinted off his impossibly perfect messy locks and bounced off his perfect teeth and warmed his perfect green eyes. His laughter was contagious and Marinette almost, _almost_ forgot that she had her own heartthrob boyfriend waiting for her at their destination.

They walked into the little café and Marinette instantly felt a sense of elation when she saw Luka. He was still looking down at his phone, but a few seconds later he looked up as she came running over to kiss him. He hadn't expected that, and honestly neither did Marinette. One of the baristas behind the counter squealed and started clapping when Marinette kissed him.

"Hi there," Luka said quietly, his eyes twinkling with a tiny bit of mischief. "Happy to see you too."

"Hey. I… didn't know I was going to do that!" Marinette laughed.

"You can do _that_ any time you like," Luka smiled back.

"I'm guessing you're Luka?" Adrien said with a hint of amusement. "I'm Adrien, thanks for letting me join you guys today! What's something you recommend?"

Marinette answered first. "Oh, I love their strawberry—" Luka's coffee cup shattered in his hand at the force of his tightened grip. "Luka! Oh my god! Are you okay?"

Adrien winced. "Ouch! Hey, are you alright?"

Marinette pulled Luka out of his seat and ran them to the back of the café into a washroom to clean off the ceramic shards that cut his hand. Luka never took his eyes off of Adrien until the door closed them in a washroom. "How did that even happen?! Oh jeez, you're bleeding kinda bad let me—"

"Marinette, you need to run," Luka said grimly.

"What?! What… wait… why, Luka?"

"Adrien's the peacock."

"What?! H-how could you tell?" Marinette asked, shocked. She looked up at Luka, but his eyes were focused on the door separating them from Adrien. He had been subconsciously moving Marinette behind him and she saw the lethal sneer build up in his expression as he made his decision to fight. She put her hands on his face and pulled his attention to her. "Luka. You're not fighting without me."

He blinked back in surprise. "No, Marinette, you need to—"

"Listen. We're here together. We fight _together_. If the Peacock is going to do anything, he'll have to deal with the both of us. Tell me why you think it's Adrien."

Luka exhaled nervously. "He… he's got the voice. His voice is the one I remember from… from when they got me."

"Tikki, Plagg, how do we tell if another person has a Miraculous? What does the Peacock Miraculous look like?" Marinette asked quickly, searching the washroom for a medical kit. She found one under the sink and pulled out antibiotics and gauze to wrap Luka's hand. Tikki and Plagg appeared floating in the middle of the room.

"The peacock miraculous is a brooch, it's shaped like a feather fan. It's usually blue," Tikki answered.

"Would one of you be able to sense it?" Luka asked, wincing in pain as Marinette used an alcohol wipe and antibiotic spray across the shallow gashes.

"Doesn't work like that," Plagg sighed. "I mean, unless it's activated. And you don't want it activated right here!"

"Alright, so we're looking for a feather brooch that might be blue… Adrien's wearing a jacket though. We don't want to freak him out here, there's… there's way too many people! We should ask him to go somewhere else," Marinette mumbled, wrapping his cut up hand.

"Is there a possibility he's not the one?" Tikki asked Luka.

Luka stared at his bandaged hand. "Maybe. I don't know, Tikki. It's… it's too similar."

"It's been a couple of days, maybe you're just imagining it 'cause blondie got you jealous over Marinette," Plagg said sourly.

"That's now how I work," Luka growled.

"Oh really? Sure would be nice to know how you _do_ work, kiddo. You're getting ready to charge back in as Panthera, you're all too willing to give up your surprise advantage _and_ your secret identity, all for a chance to beat the crap out of a guy you feel might take Marinette from you," Plagg scoffed. "Was that your plan?"

"Plagg," Marinette jumped in nervously. "Don’t dismiss it."

Luka glared back up at Plagg with a mixture of rage and shame. "Fine. What the fuck do we do?"

"Let's get you patched up first. Just continue to talk with Adrien, keep him comfortable for now. Afterwards Plagg and I can follow him for a little bit and see how he reacts!" Tikki suggested. Plagg just sighed.

"You can do that?" Marinette asked, surprised. "Okay, well, how far can you go?"

Tikki shrugged. "I don't know! We'll see. Is that alright?"

"As long as you don't get spotted," Marinette agreed. "Hey." She put her hands back on Luka's face and pulled his gaze back down on her. "You're not going to lose me." Luka just closed his eyes and exhaled, but Marinette could still feel the tension in his neck. She pulled him down for another kiss. "I'm not going anywhere without you."

* * *

Adrien smiled up at the approaching couple. "Oh, hey guys, I got the table all cleaned up. I went ahead and asked for another one of whatever you were having before, I got green tea for you Marinette, and I got some of the strawberry glazed croissants for snacks." Adrien gestured to two chairs, a third seat having been added around the table. "How's your hand?"

"It's better now. I overreacted because I thought you were someone else," Luka said.

"I'd hate to see what would have happened if he was here," Adrien laughed.

"He'd have the shit beaten out of him." Luka smiled. Marinette squeezed his good hand. "Hi, I'm Luka. Sorry about that first impression," Luka said at Adrien, holding out his bandaged hand.

Adrien shook it gingerly. "Not a problem. You two probably wouldn't be surprised to hear it's not the worst impression I've ever gone through with another couple. That time one of them threw a chair in my face." Marinette and Luka were taken aback. "Ha, anyway. Let's talk shop for a bit outside of any Gabriel eavesdroppers, shall we?"

Marinette felt Luka's grip on her hand tighten with a slight shiver. "S-sure! What's your interest in finding out more about me anyway?" Marinette asked.

Adrien relaxed back in his chair. "I'm wondering if you ever plan on leaving Gabriel."

Marinette blinked. "Um…" A barista brought their drinks and pastries to the table.

"Because," Adrien continued, taking a bite from a croissant. "It would be wonderful for both me and you if you do. I think you genuinely have what it takes to make it on your own, and sure as hell Gabriel doesn't appreciate you as much as you deserve. Have you heard of Audrey Deschamps? She was formerly Audrey Bourgeois."

"Yes, I've heard of her, she's the Style Queen!" Marinette answered. "I don't understand the rest of what you're saying."

Adrien just smiled. "Basically, I'm saying screw Gabriel. Create independently. I work with Audrey to get people out from under the illustrious Gabriel thumb. She's more than willing to throw her weight behind you."

"Is-isn't Gabriel your _father_?" Asked Marinette.

"Yes, which is why I know how he works. He's also a cad and I want to ruin him as much as I can," Adrien grinned.

"This... isn't the first time you've done this," Luka guessed, still surprised.

"Nope! But he can't stop me. I'm sure he'll have noticed that I took you out for a 'discussion' and bend over backwards for you, Marinette, but trust me, the longer you stay at Gabriel the less of yourself and your vision will remain."

"What sort of angle are you taking?" Luka asked, leaning forward slightly. "You've got a motive for pushing this."

Adrien leaned forward as well. "You're right. It's my personal vendetta." Adrien started whispering to Marinette and Luka. "Between you and me, my father is an asshole and mom left years ago after Father got caught screwing his secretary. He destroyed our family, two families actually, but no one knows about it because of course Gabriel would have absolute control over his image. I'm still around because of a contract that was signed when I was 14. Yes, I'm bitter."

Marinette looked to Luka and the both of them were confused. "Oh… okay. But… I mean. Okay?" Marinette struggled to find something to say.

Adrien pulled out a business card from under his jacket and both Marinette and Luka tried to pay attention to anything that might look like a brooch. Adrien slid the card to Marinette. It was a crisp white card with gold foil and subtle marbling. "This is Audrey's direct line. You can verify anything you want with her." One thing that Marinette and Luka did notice was that Adrien wore a silver ring on a necklace. Adrien saw that it caught their eye. "Oh, right. Just so you know I'm not here to sweep Marinette off her feet," he winked, holding up the ring and kissing it. "I'm happily married."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprises all around?
> 
> The husband said maybe I should do end-card art for each chapter. Might be fun!


	14. Do you think I'm special?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY SHIT GUYS I GOT ART FOR THE FIC!!!???? TAKE A LOOK AT THIS
> 
> [](https://mangoes-n-cream.tumblr.com/post/613488899391733760)
> 
> [PLEASE REBLOG IF YOU CAN IT'S SO AMAZING](https://mangoes-n-cream.tumblr.com/post/613488899391733760)

Tikki and Plagg silently trailed Adrien after his lunch with Marinette and Luka. Marinette stayed behind with Luka and Adrien bid them adieu, walking back to _Gabriel_ on his own. The kwami stayed high, staying near the edges of the buildings they passed to phase in and hide whenever they sensed anyone looking up their way.

Tikki broke the silence. "You can't keep treating Luka as if he's going to make the same mistake, Plagg."

The black cat groaned. "Come on, sugarcube, gimme a break. The kid's… he's already stupidly in love with your girl. He's not thinking straight. He's never gonna think straight again."

"Luka's not the same. Things aren't the same as the last time. He's going to make different choices."

"He _might_ still make the same dumb choices, Tikki. It's building up the same messed up way. They get too involved and he'll keep throwing himself on the fire and she'll think it's her fault and they'll both give up everything for one another. Just like before."

"We both know that's why we decided to let them know everything from the start this time." Plagg stayed silent. "At least they're adults," Tikki said quietly to herself.

Plagg scoffed. "Humans. They're always so dumb, no matter how old they are." Plagg looked down at Adrien, a small pang in his heart as he looked at his previous bearer.

But that was a universe ago.

"At least Adrien's happier here," the little cat sighed. "Stupid Gabriel. He got his wife back and he still manages to screw it all up. But at least Adrien is happy."

"Plagg… he's… Adrien's not going back to _Gabriel_." Plagg and Tikki stopped in midair, looking at Adrien take a turn away from their expected destination.

"We need to keep following him," Plagg sighed, shaking his head. "We don't know his schedule. Maybe this is normal."

Tikki hesitated, wondering if she should say something. "Okay," she said instead, resigned.

They flew behind Adrien, watching the surroundings change from crowded restaurants and apartments to gardens and parks. Adrien continued on until he reached what appeared to be a large dojo, then he walked inside. Tikki and Plagg took a glance at each other and followed in after the model.

A class was in session and Adrien waved to the instructor: a large, top heavy man with a permanent frown and black hair with thick grey sideburns. The instructor grunted a hello, and threw a student down on the floor onto her back, the student shouting out an " _oomph_ " in surprise. Adrien continued on into another room, Tikki and Plagg not too far behind.

Adrien had gone into a completely dark room. If it wasn't for Plagg having extrasensory capabilities in the dark and pulling himself and Tikki away just in time, he and Tikki would have gotten trapped in what looked like a small, oddly shimmering globe. "Looks like they were expecting us, Tikki!"

* * *

"Are you going to call Audrey?" Luka asked, picking up his mug of coffee with a slight wince due to the stinging in his palm.

Marinette stared at the crisp white business card, turning it over a few times, then tapped it against the tabletop. "Do you think I should?"

"No. But I don't have a good reason for why," Luka sighed. "I don't think I like Adrien. I don't trust him."

"Yeah," Marinette said weakly. "I… don't think I do either. But… this really _is_ Audrey's number."

Luka's eyebrows went up as he took a sip. "You already had her number?"

"Yeah. She's… she's reached out to me before, actually. I was totally shocked then too… just like today! I wasn't sure what she was saying back then, except that she kept telling me I should start my own line. So I did! But… I guess she was trying to tell me to leave and not just manage a side gig."

"How much do you trust Audrey?"

"For fashion? Anything she says is law. So, I mean, probably a lot?"

Luka put his cup down and stared at his injured hand. "Then you should call her. Verify the story. If you want, that is."

Marinette reached out and took his good hand into hers. "How is that hand?"

"It's fine."

Marinette inhaled a slow, deep breath and let it out quickly. "Okay. Can we talk about what happened? Not about Adrien or Audrey but why you thought I needed to run and leave you to deal with whatever could have happened by yourself?"

To Luka it felt as if the café fell silent and everyone had turned just slightly to listen in better to their conversation. "Could… we do this later?" _Ah fuck, that was the wrong thing to say_. The look on Marinette's face… was far too similar to faces he'd seen in his past relationships. The subtle disappointment, the quiet hurt. "Come home with me," he blurted out. "So we can talk."

Marinette blinked, but the corners of her mouth curled up slightly. She glanced at a clock. "I'll tell my office I'll need to take care of my boyfriend. At least Adrien can back me up."

"Your dumbass boyfriend," Luka sighed.

"But _my_ dumbass," Marinette laughed.

* * *

Tikki and Plagg flew up into the rafters, phasing through the ceiling, working their way up and out of the dojo. There was a hot, blistering wind that followed them up, and even through the multiple floors and out through the roof. Plagg stopped their fleeing and scrunched up his face, sniffing the air. "Oh of course it's you," Plagg sighed.

"Who is it?" Tikki asked worriedly.

The wind became a cyclone, then narrowed further forming a figure in black and gold standing at the edge of the building. She lowered her red bow and arrow, still drawn and ready, ash flaking off at the edges and showing cracks of white hot molten metal underneath. "Your presence here… is troubling," she said.

"Yeah, yeah, blah blah blah later. Whaddya want?" Plagg sighed.

"Why were you following Adrien Agreste?" The figure asked.

"You're not working with Hawkmoth, are you?" Tikki asked back, worriedly.

Plagg barked out a quick _ha_ in disgust. "We're all answering questions with more questions. We were tailing after Agreste because we got reason to believe he's in league with the Peacock or Hawkmoth."

The figure in black and gold laughed bitterly. "So the two most powerful kwami get sent on their own without their bearers to hunt down a possible agent of Hawkmoth?"

"Us kwami still got tricks up our sleeve," Plagg said evenly.

"Do tell," the figure continued.

"Alright then," Plagg grinned, the smile all sharp points with no warmth. "We'll do this old style. Catacl—!"

"Plagg, NO!" Tikki tackled him midair. "Please, we're not here to harm anyone if we don't have to!"

"Interesting choice of words," the figure commented. A few seconds lapsed and she sighed, her weapon vanishing into thin air. "But it's clear you're not corrupted nor the other Miraculous I've been hunting. Longg, power down."

Tikki looked over the woman for a moment, then an echo of recognition hit her. "Kagami?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to remember where I left off with all this @_@
> 
> But man I miss writing this


	15. Do you think I'm nice?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be... rough.
> 
> Happy Mother's Day?
> 
> Stay safe and stay sane, folks.

Luka and Marinette walked out of the little café, Marinette still idly playing with the crisp business card in between in her fingers. It was a 15 minute walk to his apartment and during the walk Luka had kept mostly silent. Marinette had initially been worried that… well that he'd call her _nosy_ or something. On one hand she understood that all he'd been trying to do was protect her.

On the other hand, it had been stupid as fuck to nearly launch himself directly at a potential Peacock user in broad daylight after telling his partner to run away.

But that was a problem for a bit later. She bit her lip in contemplation, trying to figure out if anything with Adrien and Audrey were related to… what. Hawkmoth? Maybe Luka's instincts were right and they _had_ been related to the Peacock both. The timing was pretty suspicious. If they were able to tap into his memories then surely they knew who she was? How much was taken from Luka? How much danger were they in? What sort of game was being played?

Maybe she should have wondered if they were walking into a trap.

"Marinette?" She heard Luka speaking for the first time. She turned toward him and tripped, the card folding against him as he rushed in and caught her. "You alright?"

"Oh! Oh I'm sorry Luka. I'm okay."

He set her upright but kept his arm around her. "Hey," he said after a long moment's hesitation. "I'm sorry. About earlier." He frowned.

Marinette laughed a little and leaned into him, wrapping her arms around him. "Just remember I'm here _with_ you, alright?" She felt him take a deep breath and let it go. He didn't answer one way or another but… she knew he'd at least be thinking about what she said. That'd be good enough for now.

They headed into the apartment complex and got in the elevator, Luka's good hand holding onto hers. The elevator doors opened and the both of them paused, looking out into the hallway. She felt him grip her hand tighter. "Did you see that?" He asked, hesitating. Luka thought he saw something shimmering in the distance. It was still the early afternoon but they also noticed the sunlight glinting in from the windows came from the wrong direction.

The elevator doors started closing again but Luka stepped out with Marinette close behind. "Is… there… look at the floor, Luka. What's wrong with the floor?"

"Goddamn it," he said under his breath. Large swaths of the normally dull gray carpet had a silvery green sheen. They closer they got to his apartment, the more _weird_ things felt. Luka started feeling a dull pain in his finger where Plagg's miraculous was. Marinette's free hand went up to her ear and he figured she felt the same dull ache. "Fuck, I hope those kwami know where we are," Luka sighed.

"Wait, are we still… wh-what are we going to do?" Marinette spoke in a small voice, half thinking she and Luka walked into some horrible altered reality. She felt entirely too fragile without her Ladybug suit on.

He frowned again. "I have to check on Juleka and Rose."

Marinette worried her lip but nodded. "Until Tikki and Plagg find us, we have to be careful. Can you call Juleka?"

"Right," he exhaled, chagrined at not thinking of that first. "Good idea." He got out his phone to contact Juleka and got connected to his sister's voicemail. He sent a text just in case. Juleka was usually quick to respond. He sent another text to Rose. "No answers yet," he frowned. "Let's wait at my place."

They walked to his apartment, their steps going from a muffled thud to crisper taps as if they were walking on glass. "I really don't like this," Marinette whispered.

"Yeah, me neither. Should we leave?"

"I… I'd like that, yeah."

"Alright." A few moments after they turned around to head back to the elevator his phone rang. He picked it up immediately. "Jules?"

Rose answered instead. "No… Luka, it's me…"

"Hey, what's u—"

"Luka, I… I think I'm in trouble."

His heart nearly stopped. "Where are you?" He placed his hand over the speaker and whispered "Rose" to Marinette, who smiled up at him.

"I… I don't know? I was coming home for lunch because Juleka wanted to be home in case… in case you needed her for today… If Adrien was gonna be a problem." _Wow_ , that… was both kind and kind of sad. Juleka wanted to be home to take care of her brother's potentially broken heart? "But… I just woke up when I got your text." Luka could hear her start to cry and his heart was beating hard. "I don't know where I am…"

"Send me your location. Your phone, can you do that?" Luka lowered his phone and put Rose on speaker. "I'm at the apartment with Marinette."

"Okay…" Rose said, sobbing.

"Wh-what's happening?" Marinette asked. "Rose are you alright?"

"Marinette! I don't… I don't know what's happening. I just woke up and this place is… so dark and I… I don't know where this is. Luka, it's saying I'm at home! I don't… I don't…"

"I'm coming over," Luka said. He paused for a half second. "Marinette, come with me?"

"Of course," Marinette answered.

They entered Juleka's apartment without any jump-scares like Marinette was expecting. She noticed that she had been touching her earring in an effort to calm herself down. Maybe she was relying too much on Tikki for safety. She still really wished she had an indestructible protective suit right then. She and Luka took a look around, and while the light still bounced in the wrong direction, things looked more or less the same. "Rose?!" Luka called out. "Rose can you hear me?"

"Only on the phone," Rose answered over speakerphone, stifling her tears. "Maybe my phone's broken? I don't know why it says I'm at home it doesn't make sense…"

"We're going into your bedroom to check, okay?"

"Okay," Rose answered.

They opened up the bedroom but it was oddly pitch black inside. Luka reached over to hit the light switch and… the entire room was covered in a reflective silver green. Floor to ceiling mirrors. Even the plants and furniture looked like they had been dipped in liquid chrome. "What the fuck is this," Luka muttered.

"Oh god, is this an akuma?" Marinette asked out loud. "Rose… Rose can you hear us in here?!"

Rose gasped. "Oh I can see you now! I'm here! I'm here!" Rose shouted at them. "I'm… I can see you in the doorway!"

Marinette and Luka walked in, visually assaulted by a million different versions of themselves being reflected back with light bouncing in every direction. It hurt to look at but they kept scanning the room trying to find Rose. They saw her pressed up against a full length standing mirror.

Except she was on the other side.

Rose was pounding against the glass, heard over both speakerphone and a quiet muffled thud against the standing mirror. They ran over. "Holy shit!" Marinette yelled. "Rose! You're-you're _in_ the mirror!"

"Goddamn it," Luka said under his breath. "We need to find the akuma. Fuck." He closed his eyes, getting a headache from seeing everything reflected on itself. "Rose, I… know this is going to sound crazy but we need leave to find Ladybug and Panthera. They'll fix everything and you'll be alright. I promise."

Rose started panicking. "No! Don't leave—"

The room shattered. "DON'T MAKE PROMISES YOU CAN'T KEEP!" Juleka's voice shrieked at them.

* * *

"You… remember all of it, don't you?" Kagami asked both Plagg and Tikki.

"We do. Do you?" Tikki asked back.

"You two and Duusu are the only ones," Longg answered.

"However, Adri—" Kagami was cut off.

Tikki and Plagg both screamed. "Oh no! Oh no, oh no, oh no—" Tikki kept repeating, placing her tiny arms on her head as she curled into a tight ball.

Plagg placed his paw on Tikki to help calm her even though he was wincing himself. "Gotta go. Kagami, Longg, help us!"

"What do you need?" Kagami looked at Longg and the pair nodded at each other. "Longg, transform me."

Plagg dragged Tikki and sat the both of them down on a re-transformed Kagami's shoulder. "Wind form, I'll give you directions as we go. Take us back to our Miraculous!"

* * *

The mirror shards gathered, scraping across the floor with head splitting screeches. Marinette and Luka picked themselves up from the floor and sat up, the both of them bleeding from numerous tiny slashes, mostly on their arms and sides from throwing themselves to the ground trying to cover one another's heads and faces. They heard Rose screaming from inside the standing mirror through Luka's phone, but she looked unharmed if not terrified.

"Are you… fuck I mean can you move?" Marinette winced, trying to pull off larger pieces of glass embedded in her.

"God, we need to run," Luka groaned, trying in vain to gently help her remove the slivers of glass from her skin.

"Yeah, we do," Marinette agreed, trying to get herself to her feet but feeling slightly dizzy and nauseous. "Luka," she called out and took hold of one of his arms, trying to get him to stand up. They both winced as the glass pressed into them.

He got himself up, oddly thankful that one of his hands was already bandaged up. He pressed his weight into that hand and got up with Marinette holding onto his other arm. "Let's go," he said, still disoriented.

"Why aren't you transforming?" Juleka asked. They turned to look at the gathered shards of glass, now in a jagged, threatening form of a tall, slim woman with no face. There was a purple butterfly halo in front of the smooth surface where her face would be. "I thought you were heroes. Come and save me, why don't you?"

"Juleka?" Luka said, pain and anguish in his voice. "Juleka, no, please don't listen to him."

"Go, need to go," Marinette said in a quiet voice, trying to pull Luka away.

A part of him gave in and Marinette was able to pull him away for a few steps before she got blindsided and Juleka slammed into her with surprising speed, throwing the small woman into the furthest wall. "Marinette!" Luka yelled out, running after her. Juleka launched herself at Luka and pinned him against another wall.

She pinned him with a mirror spike going through his shoulder. " _Don't_ tell me what to do, Luka." There was no purple halo when she spoke.

"Jules?" He asked, his voice weak. He'd have screamed if he wasn't so damn overwhelmed. "Jules… why—"

"You think you know me, asshole? You think you _know_ me?" Juleka stepped away, breaking off the spike from her body to leave him against the wall. "You don't know everything." More glass shards gathered at her feet and traveled up her side to re-form an arm. "You don't know how I can't trust you, not all the way. You don't know how hard it is for me when I think about mom and how you killed her. You murdered her, Luka. You don't know how much you hurt me when you took her away from me."

"I…" He let out a breath, realizing later that it had been much too shallow. He was getting dizzier. Why was all of this happening now? He'd already nearly died once. Now… now he was having to face his sister. Again. "I don't. I don't know," he admitted. They'd already been through this. Several times. But… maybe they both figured they were over it and maybe they hadn't been.

"I didn't get a chance to say goodbye. It sucks so much," Juleka sighed, readying another spike. "Now, at least, I can say goodbye to you—"

"No!" Marinette screamed, throwing herself against Juleka. The both of them tumbled to the floor. "Juleka wake up! Hawkmoth is manipulating you!"

 _God_ , Luka wished he had Plagg again, _that little shit_. If he could transform he'd be able to destroy whatever had been possessing Juleka. Fucking hell, if he survived this he'd find Hawkmoth and _rend_ him piece by every damned piece into non-existence. Hawkmoth targeted Juleka. _Juleka_. His sister. His baby sister. And now Juleka was a vehicle, driven by Hawkmoth to hurt him and _Marinette_.

That, frankly, was bullshit.

Marinette. Juleka. Rose. The dozens of people who had been akumatized. The people affected by all this bullshit, so close to innumerable. Every day, even with the existence of so-called heroes, they lived with the terror that someone would be manipulated into hurting them, their loved ones, the strangers around them.

He needed to put an end to it. But without Plagg… he was just one man. Still, he had to try. He took in a deeper breath while Juleka chased after Marinette, who had baited his sister then fled out the door. He pulled up his working arm and tried to pull the spike out. He didn't have the strength for it so he slammed his fist against it, trying to break the spike off. It drove fresh waves of pain into him and he nearly passed out but he gritted his teeth and kept going until it did break. He pushed himself off the wall and blacked out for a few seconds. Seconds he couldn't waste. He needed to find Juleka. And Marinette. And… he had to help somehow.

Reality strobed around him as he heaved himself off the wall, pulling the spike with him with it still embedded in his shoulder. Everything was sticky, exhausting, and he nearly gave into the intense pressure of just letting everything go. He wasn't going to let himself do that. He stumbled out of the bedroom to see Juleka holding Marinette against a wall by her throat, Marinette feebly kicking at Juleka, pleading at her to come to her senses.

 _Wrath_.

Never before in his life had Luka ever felt something this strong. It was almost a nirvanic experience, how pure it was. Somewhere in the back of his mind he felt he could _use_ that. He unfurled his fist from his nearly dead arm and walked forward, pulling Juleka off of Marinette. Both women looked up at him, waiting to see what would happen next.

Luka pulled a necklace from Juleka's neck, but before it snapped off he saw the purple halo on top of his… his own reflection? The smooth mirror finish reflected a haggard man, but a man with a purpose, only with Juleka's warm brown eyes instead of his electric blue. It made him hesitate for one instant, but he caught himself. "Hey Hawkmoth," he said, his throat dry and his mouth ashen. " _Fuck off and die_."

He watched Juleka, the real one, coming back as he pulled harder on the necklace, fear and recognition both in her eyes. "Luka," his sister said weakly. "Don't leave…"

"Luka!" He heard Marinette scream.

He looked down at his hand and the necklace, watching it… _decay_. No butterflies? Well, no, of course there wouldn't be, he used his _Wrath_ after all. He tried to show Marinette that it was over, but the dizziness caught up to him and he fell onto his knees. Juleka and Marinette rushed over and held him, Juleka sobbing and apologizing with every breath she took.

Marinette's voice cut through the near incoherent wailing of his sister's and Luka focused on that. "Luka?" She asked gently.

"Yeah," he answered, feeling weak.

"Hold onto me. Stay with me."

"I will." He attempted a smile when she took his face into her hands. Luka saw Rose rush forward to Juleka's side and pull her away just enough to let Marinette tend to him. Good. That was good. Juleka had Rose. His sister was alright. Or was going to be, anyway.

"I need you with me. Forever," Marinette said. It was odd, the way it electrified his everything when she spoke to him.

"Same," he sighed. There was a hot wind that blew in from… the vents? Or something? But Luka had already lost the battle to stay awake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My version of Reflekta.
> 
> As much as I love Luka, I keep putting him through a lot of shit. He can handle it. Probably 😹


	16. Am I bright enough to shine in your spaces?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two notes:
> 
> First, I provide equal opportunity pain.
> 
> Second, Juleka says "Don't leave" because she had a series of thoughts all jumbled together: "Oh god I hurt Luka so bad he's going to hate me forever and I'm going to be abandoned and I'm going to be alone again." Plus it's kind of a callback to an earlier chapter when Luka and Marinette first got their powers. I think it was too obscure/weird a mention so I wanted to point it out.

Marinette was probably going to feel that in the morning. _That_ being shoulder-checked by a woman made of entirely pointy mirror shards into a wall about 10 feet from where Marinette had just been. She had the wind knocked out of her and she was finding it hard to breathe. Had she ever broken a bone before? She was clumsy, sure, but with her younger self having had a few years of gymnastics she was able to land well enough from her falls.

So broken ribs? Entirely new sensation. Did not recommend.

She looked up when Luka called out her name, trying very hard not to breathe, much less scream and contribute to the already excruciating pain she had in her side. She almost forgot to not-scream when Luka was speared through.

She wanted to be home. She wanted to be home, in bed resting pain-free with an undamaged Luka to snuggle with. How nice would that be? She closed her eyes.

She opened them some time later. Holy fuck, she passed out? Oh god she had to get up and get away… but Luka… oh fuck was he still—

"—sucks so much. Now, at least, I can say goodbye to you—" _Say goodbye_? Juleka was going to _kill_ Luka? _Juleka_? No way. Juleka loved her brother. This… this was all Hawkmoth's doing, _fuck that guy_.

"No!" Before she could register what she was doing Marinette got to her feet and ran at Juleka, unsteadily tackling her away from Luka. Shit, her entire body was on fire. Marinette rolled to her side and got to her knees, pushing herself off of Juleka and finding new, deeper slashes on top of the still bleeding earlier cuts. "Juleka wake up! Hawkmoth is manipulating you!" Neither so-called heroes were in good shape. Marinette groaned and got her legs moving under her, forcing herself to run, run out the door, get Juleka away from Luka, get away from Juleka herself. "Hawkmoth you fucking coward, let Juleka go! If you want Ladybug come and get her yourself!"

It wasn't like she could go very fast, so it wasn't surprising that as soon as she got out of the bedroom Juleka caught up and sliced into Marinette from the back, the small woman fell sprawling to the floor from the searing pain. The akuma walked up and turned Marinette from her stomach over to her back, then reached down, wrapping her bladed hand around Marinette's neck. Marinette tried to peel off Juleka's mirror fingers but was unable to.

Marinette was dragged to and up the wall, leaving behind a streak of blood. Being held up by her throat increased the weight and tension against her ribs and she was screaming from the pain but barely anything could come out with her throat closing up. She tried kicking Juleka for any sort of leverage, tried getting purchase against the wall to push off of, but nothing was connecting. That and it was pretty hard to think straight or plan out anything more complicated. "Juleka, please, this isn't you…" Marinette managed to wheeze out. Through the tears in her eyes Marinette saw her own reflection in Juleka's smooth featureless face… but what was odd was Marinette saw her own eyes in the reflection… were brown. Like Juleka's brown. What… what was that?

Suddenly all the tension released and Marinette was dropped onto the floor. She looked up and… Luka had pulled Juleka back? "Hey Hawkmoth," he said to a stunned Juleka. "Fuck off and die."

The mirrors surrounding the three of them turned black, dissolving into smoke and dissipating into the air, but Marinette wasn't focused on that. It was heartbreaking, seeing Luka so hurt, but he had nothing but relief on his face when Juleka was back to normal. He started falling and Marinette and Juleka rushed in, trying to hold him upright. He crumpled to his knees and sat back, swaying even with Marinette and Juleka holding him.

Marinette was not going to look at the wounds. She wasn't going to count the deep red slashes across his body. She wasn't going to worry right now about how incredibly fucked up his shoulder was or how much blood was being lost. She held him, they were alive, they had… won? And they were here, together.

There was wind or something weird in the hallway, but it went almost unnoticed by Marinette until Luka had closed his eyes and pitched forward. She hurt like hell but she turned to lay him down on his side. He was still breathing, if shallowly. She could feel his heartbeat. It was slow… was it too slow? She leaned over slowly, her ribs giving her nothing but sheer agony, and pressed her lips against his temple. "I love you."

* * *

_(A long while back...)_

Bunnix vanished, the timepiece having been shattered into a million different tiny little gears.

Viperion was… lost. Marinette held his head in her lap, her fingers stroking his hair as she said she was sorry, but she was on death's doorstep herself and shouldn't have had to waste her tears and her last breaths like that.

His father was dead. His mother never came back to life like Gabriel had said she would. Emilie's heart was beating but she never woke up. Funny how the wish worked. All of it was pretty unfair.

The earrings and ring demanded that a price be paid and Gabriel paid it, giving up the most important thing to him.

That had apparently been Gabriel himself.

Adrien thought it made sense in a deeply cynical way.

He took the ring off of his father's cool hand and slid it back on his right hand’s ring finger. He took the earrings too, thinking in a momentary bout of hysteria just how fucking weird it was to have _Gabriel_ , of all people, wear earrings. Adrien turned around to give the earrings back to Marinette, that maybe she could transform back into Ladybug and call her Miraculous Ladybugs to… _fix everything_.

 _Everything_ definitely needed fixing.

But Marinette… was also gone. It was almost poetic how her head hung over Viperion, like if Adrien looked at them from the corner of his eye it seemed more that Marinette was just bending down to kiss Luka.

An irrational bolt of jealousy hit Adrien. _No, no, no, she was **his** Lady_. It passed as quick as it came and Adrien felt tears spring to his eyes. No, she _was_ his Lady and she should have been alive to kiss whoever she wanted, and if it wasn't Adrien then… then she should have been able to be happy with Luka, if she wished.

So he'd make the wish on her behalf.

"Adrien, don't do this," Plagg begged. "Please don't." Adrien put the earrings on. "Please Adrien, listen to me, kid. I know that everything's all messed up but you can't do this."

"Sorry, Plagg. Tikki. I don't know how else to fix this." Plagg and Tikki both started yelling at Adrien but he wasn't paying attention. "Plagg, claws out! Plagg, Tikki, Unite!"

* * *

"We failed."

"Plagg, there—"

"We failed, Tikki. What do we do now?"

She sighed. She looked at Plagg, now a tiny white kitten shaped star with a pair of ever-consuming voids for eyes. "We do what we were asked."

"You can't be serious, sugarcube," Plagg whined. He looked up at Tikki, an absolute black being forming roughly her previous shape, but her eyes and spots shone through a pure white. "Adrien's only 15, he didn't know what he was asking for, we can't just _redo_ everything!"

"Plagg, if I could stop it you know I would. Can you?"

Plagg looked stricken with despair. "No."

"We'll do what we were asked, but we'll do more! We'll do more than redo everything, Plagg. We'll make it better! That's how we can help everyone!" Tikki looked over to Marinette, frozen in place as time no longer functioned. Maybe it didn't even really exist anymore. She saw the boy in Marinette's lap. "We choose better," she said quietly. "And we give them more. We have to give them more power!" She took Plagg's paws into hers. "And they'll be ready this time."

Plagg dropped his gaze down to their linked paws. He tilted his head to the side to see the roiling mass of corruption behind Tikki, behind him, surrounding them. It was an alien presence to them, their world, their universe. It was encroaching further and the _redo_ was going to cost them… maybe too much. "They'll have to be," Plagg sighed. "No more chances after this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I secretly sabotaging myself by continuing to up the stakes? I sure am. oTL
> 
> I hope this answers... some questions? >_>;


	17. It feels alright

"— Look, all I'm asking is if Marinette _has_ to be Ladybug. Is there a need to have both of us out at once? What happened with Juleka can't ever happen again."

Plagg sighed. "Kid, your heart's in the right place, but Ladybug alone or you alone means no one is watching your back. Heck even untransformed you two needed each other to get outta the scrape with your sister."

"If we hadn't sent you and Tikki out I'm sure I could have taken her on myself."

There was another, deeper sigh from the little Kwami. "Sure. Go ahead and speculate all you want, it's not gonna change what actually happened."

Marinette realized she was awake. She opened her eyes to find herself in Luka's bedroom? "Marinette?" She heard Tikki call out her name. "How are you feeling?" She blinked and felt her heart rate shoot up. She and Luka had just been attacked, she had been bleeding, he'd been impaled, the last thing she did was… oh god she had passed out? After Luka… oh shit was Luka alright? Marinette bolted upright and tumbled out of the bed she had been laying in, getting snagged up in the blankets she didn't realize had been on her.

"L-Luka, where's Luka?!" Marinette cried out in panic. She scrambled up to her feet and ran to the door, but it opened well before she got to it.

Luka was the one that opened the door. "Marin—" Marinette kept running and threw her arms around him when she reached him, sending them both stumbling back a few steps until Luka recovered from her unintentional tackle and got them both standing up. He laughed. "Hey, Mar—"

She wailed. She pressed her face into his bare chest and felt the warmth from his skin and all the fear and dread and frustration at being powerless came out as tortured sobs. She held onto him tight, trying in vain to calm herself down, to assure herself that he was still here and she hadn't watched the love of her life die with her very own eyes. She felt him, felt his arms wrap around her and his chin coming to rest on the top of her head. "You're here," Marinette said through her tears, a minute or two after just letting herself be held.

"I'm here. So are you."

"Okay," she sighed, still crying but attempting to get herself together. No, nevermind, there wasn't ever going to be enough time to come to terms with what happened, with Juleka being taken over by Hawkmoth, with her and Luka getting hurt so badly. Wait… She gasped and pulled herself back, breaking herself free from the hug. He put his hands back on her shoulders as she scanned over him. "Y-you're not—how'd we—wh-what…" He looked fine. She took his hand, both his hands, and they looked fine. There wasn't a scratch on him.

There wasn't a scratch on her either. She didn't hurt anywhere.

"There’s a lot to talk about," Luka sighed. "Including something Tikki did to fix everything."

She wiped her tears and looked up at him. "Later. Just… we'll talk later."

He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "We should ta—whoa!" She had moved forward and pushed him back. He hit the back of the couch, fell over it and onto the cushions, and Marinette fell over him with her legs to his sides. She pulled herself up along his body to meet his mouth with her own, needing to taste him and make sure for her own peace of mind that he was here and he was whole and he was still hers. She had never needed anything as badly as she needed to feel everything of his - his hands, his lips, his heart beating, the heat radiating from his skin.

She paused, suddenly realizing that she hadn’t considered what he wanted. "Sorry," she whispered, turning away to hide her face.

He sat up, pulling her up with him. "Later," he echoed, amused and understanding and just as desperate to hold her. He got up off the couch and carried her back to bed.

* * *

Marinette woke up a few hours later when her ringtone of Jagged's most iconic single blared out. That had to be Alya or Nino calling to be able to get past her Do Not Disturb filter. It couldn't be Luka because she was currently snuggled next to him. She looked at him and it seemed like he just woke up too.

She blindly reached an arm out behind her but couldn't reach the nightstand. She sighed, annoyed and mildly spiteful that her best friend (or her BFF's husband) called right then when all Marinette wanted to do was continue to hold Luka for the rest of her life. At the very least for the rest of the night. She huffed, turning herself away from Luka to get at her phone.

Oddly, it had continued to ring well past when it should have gone to voicemail. Doubly odd, it was from an international number: +44 20 ____. And it had a "Priority Call" banner, which she had never seen before. What the fuck?

"Do you recognize that number?" Luka asked from behind her, pulling her back to him and wrapping his arm across her waist. She tried to silence it but it only worked for one ring before it was back at full volume.

"No, but… it's not… it's not stopping? I have no idea where it's from."

"Looks like a London number," Luka yawned. "A few of my friends have a number like that."

"I don't know anyone from London," Marinette said warily. "I can't even shut my phone off, what the hell?"

"Do you want me to tell them off?" Marinette agreed and handed him her phone. "Whoever you are, fuck off and don't call again," Luka said tiredly when the call connected, Marinette giggling quietly in response. They heard laughter over the call and Luka pressed the end call button, but instead of hanging up it went to speakerphone and the call continued.

"Sorry you two, but we really need to talk. This is Adrien if you couldn't tell," the caller said, still sounding amused. "I have a car waiting for you two outside Luka's apartment to take you to a private and secure location. Unfortunately we have some… _news_ on Master Wang Fu and… it's better if you get the details in person."

"M-master Fu?!" Marinette stammered. "I-I mean—Who's that? Who are you talking about?" Marinette turned and buried her face in Luka's chest, trying to shut herself up.

"You were always a terrible bluffer, Bugaboo," Adrien laughed.

 _Bugaboo_? As in… _Ladybug_? "What did you call her?" Luka interrupted, looking down at Marinette with worry. Marinette looked back up at Luka with a mix of confusion and shock as they both thought maybe Adrien knew more about them than he initially let on.

"It's a nickname from a long time ago. Come on over and I'll explain. We don't have a lot of time but I'll answer any questions you have. The offer's good for in person only, however."

"We really don't have any reason to trust you," Marinette said. "We've already been through a lot, I don't think I wanna go anywhere."

"That's… hmm. Well okay, let me send someone up to help clarify things. I'll let you discuss it with him."

"Hey don't—" Luka started, but the call ended. Luka sighed and hugged Marinette closer to him. "I'm going to ignor—"

"Mistr—" Longg started, having come up through the floor. Marinette and Luka both yelped, Luka instinctively shielding Marinette away from the intruder.

"Jesus, _come on_!" Luka yelled, frustration making his voice sound strangled.

Longg delicately cleared his throat. "Many apologies, Master Luka, but I was sent to give you and Mistress Marinette an explanation of the preceding events that unfolded a few hours ago. By your leave I can help bring to light many of the details you may most certainly have missed after your battle with Hawkmoth that were relayed to me by my bearer. However, there is a much deeper history I must tell you to allow for the fullest and most comprehensive explanation. Where shall I begin?"

* * *

Adrien was going to give them about 15 minutes to come down before he'd step out of Tatsue and get Marinette and Luka himself. Longg was… well, he was the talkative type but Adrien had to use what (or who) he had on hand.

He hadn't expected Plagg to show up in the flesh. Or whatever Kwami were made of. "Adrien?" the little cat god asked tentatively.

Adrien felt himself get a little teary eyed. "Hey Plagg. It's been a while." Plagg rushed in and snuggled himself in the crook of Adrien's neck. "I royally screwed up, didn't I?" Adrien laughed, petting the kwami on his bulbous head.

"Yeah, you were young and so, so dumb," Plagg agreed. "But to heck with that. I'm glad to see you again."

"How's Luka been treating you?"

Plagg heaved a massive sigh. "He's boring. He's always got things to do and keeps playing his stupid guitar and keeps hanging out with his sister and talks with his friends and Marinette all the time." Plagg floated back by the window, looking up at Luka's apartment. "But he lets me stream whatever and gets me almost everything I want and doesn't even complain that much. And he fights pretty good. He and Ladybug are… they're actually pretty decent together. But they don't need us Kwami the same way you guys did, back then."

Adrien swallowed, his throat feeling tight. "Plagg," he sighed. "I know this is a million years too late but… I'm sorry. I really am."

Plagg kept staring up at the apartment. "I know, Adrien. Ultimate Power always makes people dumber than a box of rocks."

"How… how is Marinette?" Adrien asked, nervously wringing his hands. "She's… she's always looked happy at work but… she always looked happy _before_ too." Plagg turned around and faced Adrien with a frown. Adrien put his hands up to placate. "I know it's stupid to ask. But since I caused this whole mess I just… I just wanted to know that she's alright. She deserves… a lot better than I could do back then."

"She's doing just fine, kid," Plagg said gently.

Really, Adrien had already known that. In the way he saw her earlier today, bubbly and bright and cheerful. The way she'd lit up when she saw Luka at the café. The way she'd forgotten entirely that Adrien was there to rush over to the man she loved. Adrien had known in the way Luka looked back up at her that she was loved back just as deeply.

It was everything that Adrien had wished for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sometimes I do fluff


	18. But never complete

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello again I am alive-ish
> 
> here we goooooo

_(Nine years ago)_

As soon as he said the wish Adrien knew he’d fucked up big time. He’d been dissolved, turning into the space _in-between_ his component atoms, the trillions of tiny subatomic particles and… _concepts_ that had initially, through sheer luck, linked up into some kind of personhood and made a pattern of Adrien Agreste.

He’d seen the Null forms of Tikki and Plagg. He knew the presence of the Invader. It was the best name they had at the time. And from there he saw how much he had cost this particular universe in terms of the energy and time it’d take to sink into his wish.

He’d asked for a “redo”. A complete and total rewrite of reality because some 15 year old rich white boy with superpowers couldn’t handle that his family and his friends had been murdered all around him. Well, in the grand scheme of things maybe it was a little short-sighted. Hawkmoth had been defeated at the cost of a bunch of teenagers playing superhero while there had been this _thing_ looming in the outskirts.

Then he saw that Tikki and Plagg had _cheated_.

* * *

When he came to, he realized he’d been back in his bed. He blinked a couple of times and scanned his room, making sure that it was actually his room and… he wasn’t dead? He wasn’t dead. He was… still Adrien by the looks of it, his room being his room and all. He looked down at his hands, suddenly panicking that he’d lost Plagg. He didn’t have the ring, holy crap! He turned over and went onto his knees, throwing the sheets and pillows off of his bed in a desperate search for his kwami. “Plagg!?” He yelled out. “Plagg, please let me know you’re here!” Adrien cried, half sobbing.

If Plagg wasn’t here… maybe Marinette had him?

Adrien ran out of his room and burst out into the main hallway. Apparently it was around the twilight hours, no one had been up and Nathalie (… and his _father_ what the _fuck_ they were both such huge _assholes_ ) wasn’t around. He managed to throw open the front doors and ran out into the courtyard. Not even the gate could stop him as he vaulted through one of the holes in the giant decorative ironwork head first.

Marinette was only a block and a half away. His Lady had always been _so close_ and he’d been an idiot for not even seeing her right in front of his stupid face. But he could fix it! He could fix it now, thank God. No… Thanks to Tikki and Plagg and–

A silver car screeched to a stop in front of him before he could run across the street to Marinette’s house. A car door flew open and his _Mother_ emerged, looking panicked in her white silk sleeping robe. “Adrien! What are you doing?!”

“Mom?!”

She ran to him and wrapped him up tight in her arms. “Adrien how could you leave like that? What were you doing?! You foolish, _foolish_ child! Do you know what time it is?!”

Adrien had been a little… more than a little shocked and overwhelmed with a mix of joy and confusion at seeing his mother in person again. His wish made her come back! But… “Mom, I need to find–”

“You’re coming home right now,” Emilie said, dragging Adrien back into the car despite his protestations. “Simon, please take us home.” Adrien heard a familiar grunt and the car was put into reverse, taking Adrien further away from his… Destiny? No. He’d changed all that. Emilie turned and forced Adrien to look at her by gripping his shoulders and turning him. “What the hell were you doing Adrien?! You know your father will be furious!”

Rage boiled over in Adrien. “I HATE HIM!” Adrien screamed. It all spilled out in the relative privacy of the car, how Adrien had found a Miraculous and became Chat Noir, how he had been fighting Hawkmoth with Ladybug, how Hawkmoth was Gabriel and Nathalie had become Mayura and they had become some disgusting _couple thing_ but that Adrien had supported their relationship unknowingly because Emilie had been dead for a year and–

“That is quite the nightmare, Adrien,” his father’s cold voice interrupted, coming from over the car intercom. “Come inside. You’ve caused enough trouble for tonight.”

Adrien had arrived at home. They didn’t believe him. Of course they wouldn’t. There was one way he could prove all that he was saying… that book was still in the safe, wasn’t it? He ran out of the car to his father’s office and slid away the Klimt-“inspired” painting of his mother. He punched in a few codes but they were all rejected.

“Adrien!” His father’s voice boomed at him. Adrien ignored him for the time being, trying in vain to remember anything that might have been important to Gabriel. Adrien remembered how Gabriel had… died loving no one but himself, and punched in a sequence. The safe popped open and revealed…

Nothing? Where did that fucker hide everything? Adrien ran at his father and pulled off that stupid candy-striped cravat, shocking everyone in view. No Miraculous?

Wait… his wish really did reset everything. He stood still in place, staring back at his father. _Oh shit_ , Adrien thought.

* * *

_(Now)_

It took at most 10 minutes of Adrien and Plagg waiting in Tatsue until Marinette and Luka came down from the apartment and walked toward the car, hand in hand. Longg had already come back sulking, apparently prematurely dismissed by both Marinette and Luka. Adrien got out of the car and opened the passenger door for the pair, but Luka stopped before entering. “Where are we going?” He asked.

Adrien smiled. “A safehouse.”

Luka narrowed his eyes at Adrien. “Why?”

“Chances are you’ve been targeted on purpose, I’ll explain more in the car,” Adrien said, patting the roof of Tatsue.

“Wait… My sister and–” Luka paled. “I can’t–”

“Oh don’t worry, Kagami already took them to the safehouse earlier. We tried to take you both as well but Plagg and Tikki said it’d be alright if they watched over you until you both woke up. Can’t really argue with them if they already made their minds up,” Adrien shrugged.

“Why do you want to help us?” Marinette asked, squeezing Luka’s hand tighter.

Adrien put his elbow against the car and rested his chin on his braced hand. “You’re looking at the man who forced Universe number 2 into existence,” he sighed. “I remember everything from the first one and I need to tell you why we’re all here. I can’t give you a bigger hook than that, can I?”

That’d been _essentially_ what Longg (and Tikki) had explained to them, but Marinette still reeled back in shock. “This is… this is so crazy,” she said shakily, feeling her hand squeezed back by Luka. “I still… I’m still having issues processing all this.”

Adrien nodded. “Yeah. Crazy doesn’t begin to describe it. Look, even if you still don’t trust me you have Tikki and Plagg back and can absolutely obliterate and smear me into a thin paste if you wanted. I have nothing to hide and nothing to hold back. I just need you two to give me some time to explain what I can and show you what I know.”

Luka sighed to himself, saying “I don’t know where–” when Plagg phased out from Tatsue. “Nevermind.”

Tikki flew next to Plagg, both kwami looking back at their holders. “Adrien’s right. We need to be somewhere safer,” Tikki said gently. “We trust Adrien to tell you the truth.”

* * *

The ride to the safehouse was relatively short but plenty awkward and quiet. Marinette had looked back and forth between Luka and Adrien, but one was staring blankly out the window in a dark, pensive mood, still gently squeezing her hand as reassurance of his presence, while the other was staring at _them_ , thoughtful and smiling whenever Marinette looked back at him but adding no additional comment.

Adrien, Tikki, and Plagg had initially given them a quick rundown of what they had experienced in the previous universe. That while Marinette had been Ladybug before as she was now, _Adrien_ had been Plagg’s original bearer. Both Marinette and Adrien had been much younger, starting their superhero lives at 13 years old and had years of practice using their Miraculous before the reset. The original Hawkmoth was Gabriel Agreste, but that had all been undone by Adrien’s wish because they failed to defeat Gabriel in the end with Marinette dying.

Adrien had no clue who _this_ Hawkmoth was.

Marinette understood most of it, but she’d noticed that Luka just… wasn’t here with her mentally. If Marinette could guess what was going through Luka’s head, she guessed it must have been worry over Juleka. She was half right.

Luka had been feeling an odd sense of… detachment since Adrien called. Yes, he was currently the Black Cat Miraculous chosen, but… he’d been a _placeholder_. He wasn't… the original. He wasn’t even truly intended to be the one wearing this ring in Universe 2 and Plagg didn’t seem to care much for Luka.

But if he hadn’t had the ring and he hadn’t been partners with Marinette, would they have ever gotten together? Would she have even noticed him?

It did feel like the past decade and change had been him swimming through mud trying to find his place in the world outside of his family. Didn’t have a father, lost his mother, had to sell their houseboat, had his sister block any contact from him for the better part of a year, his love life and attempts at rock-stardom were disasters. He finally had things starting to go his way when Marinette literally fell into his life.

And then they each got a Miraculous. It was the first time Luka had felt _alive_ and somewhat in control.

Hearing now that he was just some random asshole swept up in this whole thing was a little bit of a blow to that perspective. Maybe he needed to hand this ring over to Adrien, who supposedly knew how to handle it.

Maybe then Marinette would have a partner that wouldn’t be such a fucking liability.

* * *

They ended up being driven to some fancy Japanese dojo and as Luka had been staring out the window most of the ride he saw a formidable looking man with a huge nose ring look over the car. There’d been a split second where that man had locked eyes with Luka, staring him down with a vague but palpable threat of violence in the air.

But whatever that man saw, he deemed Luka (and Marinette, probably?) safe enough and the car drove itself further in, going down a few levels in an underground lot. The car was parked and the doors automatically opened. Adrien moved out first, beckoning Marinette and Luka to follow him.

Having been lead into one trap today, Marinette had been hesitant in falling into another one, but… at least she and Luka had Tikki and Plagg. So she’d use that. She transformed in a pink flash after she noticed no one else was around and there hadn’t been any cameras.

“That's… smart of you, actually,” Adrien mused out loud, chuckling. “I get it.” Both Adrien and Ladybug looked at Luka expectantly, but he… he just sighed.

“We wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t gotten caught, right?” Luka said. “I’m putting myself, my sister, Rose and Marinette in danger by being this… by being Panthera. This Miraculous shit isn’t working out for me, is it?”

“Luka?” Ladybug asked quietly. “What…”

“Kid, don’t–” Plagg was cut off when Luka took off his ring.

Ladybug panicked. “Luka!”

Luka opened his palm with the Black Cat Miraculous ring to Adrien. “This was always yours, wasn’t it?”

Adrien looked down at the ring. A few moments passed, each one stretching out longer than the previous. There was a real sense of longing in Adrien’s eyes and he reached out his hand toward Luka's… and took the ring. It shrank down a little bit and morphed into a signet ring with a flat silver face, blockier than the simple wide silver band it had been for Luka. “You just handed me one half of a universe ending machine, you know that?” Adrien said disbelievingly. “I’m not sure if you’re serious. I didn’t think either of you would want that back in my hands.”

Luka shook his head. “It’s always been yours.”

“It’s a nice thought. You’re a better man than I am,” Adrien chuckled. “But it’s not mine.” Adrien tossed the ring back at Luka, who nearly fumbled in catching it. “Not this time.”

“You… won’t take it?” Luka seemed confused.

“Like I said, it’s a nice thought. But I can’t use it.”

“Can’t?” Ladybug asked.

“Can’t,” Adrien confirmed. “One of those little stipulations in the fine print of resetting the universe. I can’t use a Miraculous ever again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man I've been writing this for over a year. It's my birthday again and you guys get a chapter! Hope it was... okay?


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